Another's Beginning
by Carly the Llama
Summary: Prequel to the Worldbender Series. Kelly Carpenter and Amelia Blackwell were perfectly happy with just each other, so when they found the Miraculous of the Lion and Blue Jay, there were excited to start an adventure. Friends were made and lost, tragedies occurred, but as long as they had each other and their friends, Harrison and Dorian, they could conquer anything.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The first meeting**

Now, the first time Kelly and Amelia met was technically the day they were born. The nice old lady had a doctor's office off her home and helped two women have babies: Regina Blackwell and Meredith Carpenter. Regina had twins, Morrigan and Amelia, while Meredith had Kelly.

However, the sweet woman had the start of Alzheimer's, so she forgot that Regina had twin girls and Meredith had a son, so she gave the son to Regina and gave Amelia to Meredith.

It took maybe an hour after getting home for both mothers to realize the baby error, and met up in the grove between their houses as they were technically neighbors in the woods of Manhattan, and swapped babies back.

Most would think that was the end of that, but in the brief moment Kelly and Amelia touched hands, their destinies intertwined forever.

OoOoO

The second time they met was more reasonable. Mona was talking Amelia and Morrigan into the woods to practice their magic, when Amelia ran off, bored. She and Kelly were both four by this point.

She eventually heard crying and found a boy who seemed really familiar. He had dark hair and bright blue eyes, but he was wearing a torn shirt and shorts, and had cuts and bruises on his body.

"Hey…are you okay?" The boy looked up, startled,

"Y-Yeah…you startled me." Amelia sat down with him,

"Where is you Mother?" The boy shrugged,

"She and Father invited the bad man over, so Mother told me to get lost and not come back for a while."

"Bad man?"

"A man that gives Mother and Father this thing called cocaine." He replied, shaking a little, "They act all crazy and hurt me sometimes." Amelia hugged him,

"How about you stay with my family for a little bit!" She held out her hand, "I'm Amelia. Mia for short."

"I'm Kelly." Amelia took his hand and ran to her sisters. Mona crossed her arm grumpily,

"Picking up stray puppies again?" Amelia held her ground against her sister,

"We're keeping him." Mona groaned,

"Let's go talk to Mother."

They went back to the manor. On the outside, it was run down and had moss along it. But the door was a portal to a stunning, gigantic castle.

Regina was working on some spell or another with Mara. They both turned and narrowed their eyes,

"Who is the boy?" Regina asked coldly. Kelly hid behind Amelia, even though he was a little taller than her. Morrigan was the one who explained, because even though she was four, she was already the rebel of the group,

"Mia found him. His parents are addicts, so we want to take him." Regina glared, bending down and grabbing Kelly's arm,

"Who are your parents?"

"M-Meredith and R-Richard Carpenter." Kelly looked really scared. Regina frowned,

"Do you have any magical heritage?" The young boy cocked his head,

"Magic? Like wizards and superheroes? I wish. But I don't think so. Father told me that stuff isn't real." And then Regina looked happy,

"You can stay with us, Kelly. I don't have any rooms, so does the broom closet work?" The rooms were massive, so broom closet meant a bedroom on the smaller side. Kelly nodded and the witch matron snapped her fingers, and he had a room,

"Thank you, Ma'am."

The Blackwell cared for him after that. His parents died in a car crash a year later, so Regina just raised him as her own.

He and Amelia were also inseparable, and were apparently in the same preschool class. Kelly, Amelia and Morrigan was the main trio.

But this isn't the story of ages five to ten, this is the story of their superhero careers and lives after that.

And _that_ started with a cave.

Amelia and Kelly, now ten, were running through the woods.

"Can't catch me!" Kelly chased after his blonde friend, playing tag. Summer break had finally come! Three months until the two started middle school.

"Mia! You're slipping again!" Slipping meant she was using her powers. But Kelly didn't have powers, so that made it unfair.

"Sorry!" She jumped over a log and he followed, before smirking and climbing up a tree and running across the branches, jumping down and crashing into her.

"Got ya!"

"No fair, Kels!" She complained. Kelly smirked,

"It's not cheating. There was never a rule against going in the trees. For the love, you're the witch of flight." Each witch had a theme that matched their affinity. Amelia could fly, she just didn't very often.

"True enough." She got up, brushing down her purple shorts. Then she frowned, "I feel something…"

"You do?" Kelly looked around, "I don't see anything, other than that creepy cave." He gestured to the cave they had found a few weeks prior. Neither was brave enough to go in though, because they were smart. Amelia turned with a wicked grin,

"Wanna go in?"

"No." Amelia rolled her eyes,

"Kels… it's perfectly fine."

"This plan involves me, so I get to say no. NO!"

"Kelly—"

"Let me introduce you to my good friend, NO."

"For the love of the triple goddess, Kelly, it's fine."

Kelly put a finger up, as one would to prove a point, "No is a magical word. Here's how it goes. You say 'Kelly, I have an insane, suicidal plan, would you like to help me?' and I say 'why, no.'"

"Don't be such a baby." She crossed her arms, before grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the cave.

"MIA! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"Don't be so uptight. Look, it's fine." Kelly looked around,

"Oh. I thought Mara would have cursed it or something. This is fine." Mara did tend to curse the creepy and dark things so none of the others would go in, and like eight sisters had died to her traps. Kelly grinned,

"Now that we know Mara didn't do anything, let's explore!"

So the two friends explored, and realized this cave was like an underground fortress. Amelia used her own magic to mark this cave hers. In the Blackwell family, finder's keepers.

"We could make this like our own little lair!" Amelia giggled, "Like superheroes!" Kelly nodded,

"Hey Mia, I found a door." Amelia turned and saw a stone wall with a swirling symbol on it. There was an empty hole as well. Kelly frowned, "I think the hole is a keyhole. Look, there are two!" One hole was shaped like a bird, the other like a lion.

Amelia gasped, looking down at the bracelets she and Kelly had. Morrigan had made them, saying she'd had a vision that those were gonna be important. Mor was a seer, so they believed her.

They placed the respective charms in the hole and the spiral began to glow, before sinking into the floor, revealing a room full of books and gems. In the center of the room was two small boxes, one with a lion and the other with the bird. Kelly grabbed the lion and Amelia grabbed the blue.

"Okay…on the count of three, we'll open them at the same time." Kelly nodded, "One…two…three!" They opened the two boxes and there were two blinding lights, one in gold and the other in pale blue, and two things appeared.

The first thing looked like a tiny lion cub, with golden eyes and gold fur, no bigger than ten centimeters. The second looked like a baby blue jay.

"Woah!" Kelly poked the lion one, "It's like a fairy!" The creature woke up,

"Fae, kwami, not fairy. Close though." It brightened, "I'm Pikko! Your kwami!" Amelia looked to hers,

"So…you're a kwami too?" The bird nodded.

"I'm Jaay. We grant superpowers in exchange for food." Kelly grinned like a child on Christmas,

"Awesome! How does that work?" Pikko sat in the palm of his hand,

"You put on the cuff—or Amulet in Jaay's case—and say 'Pikko, transform me!'. Some wielders make it something fancy and that becomes normal, but I prefer the simple one."

"Mine is "Jaay, let's fly!" Jaay said. Amelia slipped on the amulet and Kelly put on the cuff.

"Ready Kels?" Kelly looked at the cuff,

"Ready as I'll ever be." He looked to the Lion-themed creature, "Pikko, transform me!"

"Jaay, let's fly!"

**A/N: Chapter 1 is done, shorter, but they will get longer. This is the prequel that ends when Zoe is roughly five, but there are multiple time jumps. And I have many many witches to design, so review with ideas.**

**Rules for the witches:**

**Name starts with "M" (Amelia being the exception)**

**Has an affinity**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The first day**

"Kels! Wait up!" Transformed, Amelia flew after Kelly. She looked like a girl version of Mockingjay, except her short blonde hair was in a ponytail tied back with a ribbon, "We need superhero names!"

"Um… you choose! I'm not good at that kind of thing." He smiled sheepishly. Amelia looked down,

"Lionheart?" Kelly shrugged,

"Okay. And you?"

"White Sparrow?"

"Sure!"

They ran into the city, sitting on a building.

"So…" Lionheart frowned, "What exactly does one do as a superhero?" White Sparrow, or Sparrow for short, rolled her eyes,

"You know, fight crime! Kill monsters…and stuff…I actually have no idea." She shrugged, "All I know is I want a comic made about us."

"You sure?" Kelly frowned, "Have you seen celebrity magazines? It's gonna be all wrong!"

"That's half the fun, cub." She giggled, and they sat in silence for a few minutes. "Screw this, I'm gonna go actively search for trouble." Her eyes began to glow and she then took Lionheart's hand and darted into Chinatown.

Lionheart was amazed by how fast he could run, actually being able of keeping up with Amelia, or White Sparrow.

"Where are we going?"

"To the bad guys, duh!"

They found themself in what looked like a rather large antique shop in Chinatown—it even had three floors—where a masked person were robbing the place, but even Lionheart, a mortal, could sense the magical presence.

The man noticed them, "What are you doing here, kids? Go play pretend somewhere else." White Sparrow retaliated by revealing her throwing knives and launched one him, tearing the mask that concealed his face. Lionheart was frozen in shock at how real this was.

This was a man in his mid to late twenties, and his appearance was as close to fire as you could get without literally being in fire. He had a stubble of a red beard also, poorly shaven. Burn marks aplenty on his face also scattered his facial features, including two around each of his eyes.

The Villain stared at the two children in front of him. There wasn't much to think. "Is this some sort of joke?" He frowned, "Children?"

"We're Heroes." White Sparrow said, with a smile on her face. Lionheart stood next to her with a look that couldn't decide what the hell it was. How Amelia was able to face this sort of person and still be grinning throughout it was amazing. Didn't she feel the least bit intimidated? He certainly did.

"You're new to this business then." The man observed, before chuckling. "Let me guess. You're fresh faced superpowered kids who wanna see of they've got what it takes to be the best Heroes ever, right?"

"Basically." Sparrow said, smirking.

"Oh boy, is this gonna be fun." The man smirked sadistically. It was clear he had dealt with people like them before. "So you know who I am, obviously. I kill for a living. And I don't work independently. You're fresh. Raw meat as I like to call you." As he spoke, suddenly, the pebble he held erupted into flames in his hands, combusting into an open flame. The light glistened in his eyes, akin to a true pyromaniac. "Tell you what, freshies, get out of here, and I'll let you go. I don't particularly like roasting kids, but end of the day, that's what keeps the boss happy and my powers intact." He glanced between White Sparrow and Lionheart.

"Back off?" Sparrow asked, with a smirk. "That's not what a Hero would do!" With this declaration, she flew behind the Villain at a speed that was practically teleportation, and launched a roundhouse kick to the back of the head, catching the man off-guard.

Staggering, the man turned, his hands now fully ablaze, and began to swing at White Sparrow, aiming to grab at least a part of his body to send up in a vortex of fire. While he wasn't the strongest in close quarters against quick opponents, he was an adept hand-to-hand combatant.

Unfortunately for him, years practicing made Sparrow very quick. Using her ability to fly at unreachable speeds made her virtually impossible to grasp. Whenever he would get close to grabbing a limb, it would disappear, and suddenly it would be smacking him in the back of the head. If not for his head-guard, which defended him from such attacks, he would have been knocked unconscious within a few strikes.

"Hyaa!" White Sparrow grunted as she smacked her shin into the villain's cheek, before flying to the other side, and throwing a solid reverse punch to equal out the damage on either side. She possessed antiquate combat knowledge, obviously, very capable a fighter, and putting the knowledge she had to good use.

"Rrrgh!" The Villain launched an open palm strike at her, his palms engulfed in the flame of his powers. He narrowly missed grabbing her wrist, only for the young superhero to snap it away, and smack him in the chin with it

While the fight between the two of them raged on, Lionheart just watched. He didn't know what to do. Whereas Sparrow was grinning during the fight, full of confidence and bravado, Lionheart was the opposite.

He was absolutely terrified.

It wasn't like sparring with the other witches. That had been pure adrenaline, heat-of-the-moment action, and it was always out of nowhere, and he knew deep down that they wouldn't hurt him too badly. This had been pre-meditated. He hadn't been thrown into this. This was a choice he had made so he could stay with Amelia. A choice he regretted.

This was actual combat. Do or die, fight or flight, give it your all, or give it all up.

He was beyond terrified.

Palms covered in fire, Sparrow's opponent made several more swings at her, narrowly missing several. He clearly became angrier as he threw each of his open-palmed strikes, looking to grapple the bird-themed hero currently landing easy blows on him. "Stop fuckin'—" A random throw, and he managed to catch her by the collar. A smug grin made its way onto his face, and he unleashed the fullest of his powers, slamming the young girl into the ground, and releasing a huge blazing pyre, that rose into the sky. Following that, he then tossed her off the roof, letting loose one more fiery explosion, just for good measure. "—squirming!"

Muscles and instinct yelled at Lionheart to move. To escape. To get out of here. To save Amelia! But his legs wouldn't move. They refused to move. He was stuck, rigid and firmly. He wasn't even shaking. That was how much his legs were disobeying him.

The villain seemed to be pleased with his work, as he admired White Sparrow's falling body for just a few seconds, before he tilted his head to face Lionheart, his smug grin still plastered on. "Well? You gonna make a move?"

Lionheart shivered. He wanted to move. Oh, how he wanted to... but it just wasn't happening. He was freaking horrified. Scared didn't do it justice. This was utter petrification.

"Not going to?" The villain questioned, turning his body to face the boy, his hands still rippling with fire. "No? Or... is it that you can't?" He glared. "Don't worry, I'm not using a power here. No back up. No one's gonna sneak up behind you. The only person who is stopping you from running away, is you."

It was true, and he knew this. There was no magic in effect here... it was just fear stopping him from moving.

"Of course." the villain smirked. "I've seen this a few times. You think you're hot shit with your powers that your parents want you to keep secret, so you tried being a superhero." It wasn't _exactly_ a wrong assessment, Lionheart conceded in his thoughts, still too unnerved to move. He would never have come out here if Amelia hadn't wanted him to… and these were technically _his_ powers and nobody had asked for him to hide them. Still, this was a harsh slap to the face. Reality had come knocking, about five minutes too late for him to take the actions needed to get out of this mess alive. "Happens every time. The rest of your team drop like flies, and then you start to cower. I say cower, you can't even manage that. You're completely rigid."

"Get the hell away from him!" It was with a certain element of shock Lionheart and the villain both heard White Sparrow's voice once again, and an even bigger shock when she flew in between them, and landing a solid spinning-hook kick into the side of the villain's jaw. While it was obvious the young hero was still in incredible pain, it was even more evident she simply didn't care, and was reacting to the current situation on sheer adrenaline and protective desire for her surrogate brother. Her kick certainly wasn't missing any strength to it, despite suffering such a serious burn.

However, she clearly recognized this was not a fight she could win in her current situation, so, grabbing hold of Lionheart, she flew out, trying to get as far away as possible. The strain that a passenger put on her body however, was simply too much for the young witch, and she wasn't able to get any further from their opponent than the street below them.

Sparrow gritted her teeth, determined not to let out a sound of pain. This was bad. Lionheart wasn't moving, apparently still crippled with fear, and was in no position to help her out of this situation, or to get himself out of the area without assistance. What could she do in this situation? The villain was still close-by, and there didn't seem to be a reason for him to not leap down here and finish the job he started.

She sighed in relief when she saw a bunch of police officers.

"There's a Villain here! On the roof!" She pointed weakly, to where the villain was. Then the cops were barely focusing on them, and on the man above.

Knowing there really wasn't a choice in the matter, Sparrow bit down hard, and flew herself and Lionheart as far as she could manage, the pain in her chest be damned. She managed a mile and a half, despite carrying a passenger and suffering an intense injury. She wound up on a rooftop, where they had started.

But she certainly felt the effects of overusing her powers plus the Miraculous.

"Aaaargh!" She let out a cried pain, detransforming and clutching her chest and falling onto her knees, and then the side of her body, writhing in agony at the circular burn above her heart. She had never felt such a pain when sparring with her sisters, and she was totally unprepared for the feeling she equated to that of being stabbed. Combined with the pull it gave her when flying with a passenger, she wasn't far from going into relapses. "Rrrgh, holy crap…!"

"A-Amelia!" Lionheart managed to move himself, finally, after seeing the incredible pain his best friend was in before him. Quickly rolling her onto her back, he tried to do what he could to treat the wound. The flesh was burned, cooked, clear and graphic.

This wasn't a game. This was real life. This was the world Heroes and Villains live in. And it was brutal.

OoOoO

"She'll live." Mercy, the witch of healing, said. Amelia slept in her bed, her chest bare other than bandages and her sports bra, "Now how did this happen?"

"W-We were playing like we usually do." Kelly said, trying to hide his tears, "Then we got too close to the city and heard screaming…Mia wanted to investigate…it was a guy…he attacked her and I was frozen and did nothing!" The best way to deceive someone was to tell them the truth. Just leave out the Miraculouses being discovered, that was basically what happened and was still not out of the realm of possibility for who Amelia was.

Mercy sat down with him, "Kelly Darling, you're mortal. You aren't meant to be dealing with magic on a daily basis, and for you to handle all of us witches makes you extraordinary. You and I both know you're capable of great things. You just need the confidence, then you can go show that bad guy who's boss." Kelly smiled bitterly,

"I'm the weakest in my family, how am I supposed to be confident?"

"Well," Molara suggested, "You could spar with Makane, or we could even talk to mother. Everyone has magic within them. Maybe we should teach you a few basic defense spells."

"Whatever happened to me being great without powers?" He asked sarcastically. Maple ruffled his hair,

"We're witches. Non-magi aren't our specialty. Bur seriously, Makane is the witch of combat, go ask her."

"But she scares me." Kelly shuddered at the thought of the large woman.

Mercy giggled, "Kelly, she's not that bad. Yes, she's intimidating, but she's actually really nice."

"She threatened to eat me."

"She does that." Molara grinned, staring at her sleeping sister, "But wouldn't Amelia want you to avenge her?"

"She's not dead…"

Maple shrugged, "True. But the way to a witch's heart is the blood-pumping organ of the one who injured them."

"You want me to _kill_ the bastard!?"

"Yeah." Maple grinned and wrapped an arm around him, leading him up one of the towers and to Makane's room.

Makane appeared to be high school-aged teenager—but she was actually a hundred years older than that. She was 6'4', making her the largest of the Blackwell witches. Her large build, deep voice and stern appearance often caused her to be mistaken for a man. She had long brown hair, dark skin, very pale blue eyes, and a scar on her face and right shoulder.

"Hey Maple. What brings you?"

"Kelly needs combat training." Kelly waved sheepishly. He felt nervous, because he was already small for his age. Sure, he was a little taller than average for a ten year old, but he was also a twig. If you looked at the Kelly of thirty years from this day and this Kelly, you would think it was his underweight son, not the same person.

Makane then grinned, picking him up and he was sitting on her shoulder like he weighed nothing at all,

"Well then, squirt, we've got work to do! I'm not really as intimidating as I look. I really will be gentle."

"T-Thanks…" Makane plopped him down in the dojo.

"So what are you trying to fight against?"

"S-Someone with fire powers. He hurt Amelia and Maple said I need to kill him now."

"Correct. Hurting your family is a challenge to your honor as a witch—or a mortal boy living with witches in your case—and to hurt a fire wielder, you fight with water or air."

"Water and air?" He cocked his head, "How does that work? Isn't it ice?"

"And ice is frozen…"

"Water?"

"Correct. And air so you can choke out the fire." Makane gave him a bow staff.

"Can we fight with bow and arrows?" That was his weapon with the Miraculous, so he needed to learn.

"You want to fight with a bow and arrow against a fire being?" Kelly nodded a little, only for Makane to grin, "That's my boy! See, you're already learning!" She pulled out some arrows, "Here, these are metal arrows, enchanted so they don't break. And here's a bow." Kelly looked up, amazed at the kindness of the woman he had been scared of for five years.

Kelly held the bow and arrow, pleading for help with his eyes. Makane smiled, bending down to help him.

"Here, this is how you do it." She fired an arrow at the dead center of the target. She gave him back the bow, "You try."

Kelly sucked in a breath, firing the arrow, which did not hit the center, but did make it onto the edge of the target.

"Good." Makane grinned, "Little more practice and you could be as good as me. Try it again."

Kelly tried again and made it a little closer.

He wasn't going to be useless again. Amelia wasn't going to get hurt again. He didn't need powers to help her.

OoOoO

"Mother! Xanar is down." Regina turned to Mara,

"What?"

"Remember those two kids that he mentioned a few days ago?" Regina nodded.

"Those kids, one ran away fatally injured and the other frozen in terror?" Mara huffed,

"Yes. Apparently the one who had been scared, went back and got revenge."

Regina's eyes widened, "So a kid went back and killed one of our best fighters?"

"Killed? No. He was pinned to a tree with his hands shot with arrows, and was left to be apprehended by the police." Regina growled,

"And I thought I had found someone with potential. Go take back his powers." Mara nodded and ran off as her mother looked down at her cauldron,

"Well, at least there is one silver lining. Jaay and Pikko are on the field again, and if they are, the others won't be far behind. And even if not, those kids won't last long." She laughed,

"White Sparrow and Lionheart, it's on."

**A/N: Chapter 2 is finally out! More witches introduced, and Kelly is much different when he was ten than when he's in his forties. And the next chapter starts middle school, the true villain.**

**Remember to review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Harrison**

"Okay," Molly looked through the kitchen cabinets, "Kelly, Amelia and Morrigan, this is your first day of middle school. Mavis, make sure to drop them off before heading to your own classes, and Mithian, go get damn groceries. I am not subjecting these innocent children to the horrors of public school lunches. I swear, they work faster than Mara's poisons." Molly had power over animals, so some little chickadees were helping make lunches.

Makane ruffled Kelly's hair. The two had bonded since he asked for help with his combat skills, and she acted like a protector from Mara.

"Now Kels," she said, and Kelly smiled at the nickname she, Amelia and Morrigan had for him, "Remember, if someone picks on you, stand firm and punch the dick. If someone hurts Mia, you punch the jugular." He nodded and Amelia rolled her eyes. Morrigan was waiting by the door, wearing her gloves as per usual.

The name Morrigan meant "Phantom Queen" and described a Goddess from old Ireland that was very associated with war, destiny, fate and death. She was a shape-shifter and frequently appeared as a black crow, an ominous sign for those who saw her prior to battle.

Morrigan had been born with those powers as well as the power of the seer, making her one of the more powerful Blackwell witches, with her Familiar, a crow called Raven. But unlike Mara, another powerful witch, Morrigan was afraid of her powers and would rather be normal.

The three kids grabbed their lunches and followed Mavis to the car. This was after a half-mile trek out of the woods and the car was in an abandoned parking lot, but nobody needed to know that.

"Remember," Mavis reminded them, brushing back a strand of red-gold hair, "What's the rule?"

"Lay low, trust nobody, never reveal our powers." Kelly didn't need to repeat the saying, because he didn't have powers.

The school, New York Middle School, wasn't much of a sight to behold. It was 1991, so it wasn't really much other than you average middle school.

"Don't die." Mavis said, before driving the few blocks to the high school. Morrigan hid behind Amelia,

"Please don't make me go in there." Kelly put a hand on her shoulder,

"Mor, it's okay. We're gonna be with you the whole time."

"But what if we have different classes!" Amelia looked to her twin and shrugged,

"Then you try socializing with others." Morrigan was shaking in fear, which was odd of a girl who could kill with one touch.

Sucking in a breath, the three friends walked into the school, grabbing their schedules and going to their classes.

The halls were dressed in black and white and the tiles were a checker board with humans as the pieces. The whole building sent a chill down Kelly's and reminds him of something out of his nightmares, even as an extrovert. Hesitantly, he walked up to the door with the small 21 nailed above it, checking the paper in his hand as he did. Amelia and Mor were in Biology right now, and Kelly was in History.

He slowly opened the door, which let out a tired old groan as the hinges protested.

Laughter sounded around the room, joined with excited conversations and shouts. Model worthy girls perched on the tables like exotic birds gossiping and giggling, a football flew above their heads between two jocks in varsity jackets parading their toned muscles. Groups of middle schoolers sat around the room laughing and causing all kinds of ruckus, all except one group that sit silently staring at laptop screens with massive headphones which appear to be permanently strapped to their heads. A breath of air brushes my ear; I follow the breeze and see a blue striped paper plane gracefully gliding through the air before sliding across the tiled hall to stop with its nose against the wall.

Though the classroom walls were bare, the windows were large. Everyone wanted a window seat, to sit in the unsubdued light of the morning. Outside the sky was blue. Whoever painted the walls in here must have had an imagination bypass, but then wasn't that the education system all over? Fill their minds with facts instead of teaching us how to think, question facts, experiment and explore.

The teacher walked in, looking as inspired as a used tea bag, and already Kelly felt a daydream starting, a really good one. He had ADHD, so this wasn't his fault. Nor was it his fault that this teacher was gonna have to be really interesting if she wanted to compete.

She didn't. Kelly didn't even bother to learn her name. Being raised by witches had the perk of being able to have a 100% average without paying even the slightest bit of attention. It wasn't cheating, his left brain was just doing things while his right brain wasn't.

The next three periods went like this—though he shared Spanish class with Amelia, so he paid a little more attention—and then lunch came.

Kelly went to go sit with Mor and Amelia, when something caught his eye. A boy about his age.

The boy was more fragile than the glass ballerina that Amelia had at home from her birthfather. Kelly thought if he were to spin the too hard, his limbs might just snap. It was hard to get his attention under than mop of brown hair that dominated his face, there were eyes in there somewhere. He held himself like he was trying to take up even less space than he already did and his clothes look at least a size too big, only exaggerating his skinniness. He looked so lost.

Kelly wanted to know his name, so he dug in his lunch for the cookie he snuck from the cupboard that morning. He was going to share it with Amelia and Mor, but this kid looked like it was just what he needed...

"Hey." The boy jumped in surprise, and Kelly finally got a look at grey-green eyes hidden behind black-rimmed glasses.

"Hi…" The boy also had a packed lunch, and looked rather sheepish. Kelly held out the cookie,

"I'm Kelly. What's your name."

"H-Harrison…" the other boy replied, "Harry for short."

"Okay Harry." Kelly grinned, "Wanna come sit with my friend and I for lunch?" Harrison looked even more surprised.

"Um…let me ask my sister. She's kinda protective." Kelly rolled his eyes,

"I know the feeling. I have too many sisters. Your sister can join us too!" Harry grinned,

"You'd be okay with that?" Kelly nodded.

"I'm new around here, so I need all the friends I can get." A girl came over. She seemed maybe a year older than them, with red hair and tan skin.

"Harry, are you okay?" Harry turned to the girl,

"Tazri! Kelly is inviting us to sit with him!" Tazri looked Kelly over, before holding out a hand,

"As my brother said, I'm Tazri. Tazri Sommers."

"Sommers?" Kelly looked over to the trophy case on the far end of the lunch hall, "Like the Sommers family that wins competitions and helps fund the school?" Harry flushed and Tazri nodded.

"Come on Tazri, I was hoping to make a friend who _didn't_ know my heritage. Now I have expectations." Kelly's eyes widened as he realized his error,

"Oh, sorry. I was just asking. I don't expect anything of you." Harry smiled and Kelly took his hand, "Mia! Mor! Tazri and Harry are gonna join us." Amelia looked up from her sandwich and grinned. Mor hid behind the book she was reading.

"So Harry," Amelia said, "What are your classes for the rest of the day?" Harry looked at his schedule,

"Um…Algebra and PE. Aka, my favorite class and my worst nightmare." Morrigan looked up from her book,

"You like Algebra?" Harry nodded,

"Yeah. And Science. I'm basically the opposite of the rest of my family."

"So?" Amelia grinned, "Different is bad, it's fun."

"Why do you wear the gloves, Morrigan?" Tazri asked, gesturing to the black and violet gloves. Kelly noticed Tazri was looking at the interior of Mor's lunchbox, so that was how she knew the young witch's real name. Mor looked up,

"I…hate dirt." Tazri didn't seem convinced, but didn't push it. Mor was quiet enough, there was no way her secret could be that bad. At least, that was the thought process of a person who didn't know of Morrigan's powers. Kelly decided to change the subject,

"So, what are your thoughts on the new superheroes, White Sparrow and Lionheart?" It was a debated topic among the witches. While most of them liked the idea of the heroes, Regina and Mara were very against them, and some didn't want kids to be fighting danger. It had been three months since they got their Miraculouses, and that topic hadn't died down.

Tazri rolled her eyes, "Don't get him started. He's probably one of the biggest fanboys out there. I personally think the kids seem too young and should have better parental care." Harry swatted her arm,

"While it's awesome to see actual superheroes, I'm actually more interested in the powers and the suit functions. Such as how White Sparrow can fly." He pulled out a journal and both Amelia and Kelly were impressed to see detailed drawings of both of them with little notes with various scientific explanations for their powers, as well as notes about the suits, like how Amelia could use the fabric on the underarm section and actually glide in favor of flying if the material had more stability.

"Damn. You really like doing research." Harry nodded,

"Yeah. I like doing little projects like this. And it makes me wonder if there are others like them. Others with powers." Kelly and Amelia sent each other a glance. They hadn't really thought much about the possibility of there being other Miraculouses. Jaay and Pikko didn't seem inclined to answer that either. Both kwamis were in the backpack of their respective owner.

Harry continued on with various theories and both secret-superheroes panicked at how close to accurate he was on some. Either this kid was bright, or they needed to do a better job hiding the source of their superpowers.

The bell rang and Kelly found the four of them—other than Tazri, who was a grade ahead—were not only in the same Algebra class, but also at the same desk grouping!

As the others had guessed, Harrison was the star student, having an answer before the others could even start writing things down. But everyone liked him, because most of their classmates weren't paying attention and the more Harrison impressed the teacher, the less said teacher would pay any heed to anyone else.

And then PE came, where Amelia and Kelly took the spotlight alongside the jocks. They knew they had to be careful left they reveal their secret identities, but a little showing off couldn't hurt.

But after about fifteen minutes, Kelly noticed Harrison had gone into the locker room and hadn't come out yet. He turned to the gym coach,

"Sir, can I get some water?" The coach nodded,

"Sure, make sure to be back. And check on Sommers, he's been in there a while." Kelly nodded and walked into the locker room. Pikko emerged,

"Do you think he cut class?"

"No." Kelly mused, "He doesn't seem like the type to do that." He looked around, "Harry?" Then he froze when he saw Harrison crumpled on the ground. Instantly, he bolted to his new friend's side, "Harry? Can you hear me?" He wasn't breathing.

Instantly, Kelly rolled Harrison onto his back on the locker room floor, keeping his back in a straight line while firmly supporting his head and neck. He then pulled out his Motorola MicroTac Classic cell phone and called emergency services.

Once the ambulance was called, he opened Harrison's mouth with his thumb and index finger, placing his thumb over the tongue and his index finger under the chin. He could only assume Harrison had choked on something, but he couldn't see an object.

Immediately, he began rescue breathing. But since Harrison's chest still does not rise, the airway was likely blocked, and he started CPR with chest compressions, thanking god that Mercy had taught him how to do this.

He sighed in relief when Harrison started coughing, meaning air was coming through.

"Harry?" Harrison continued coughing, before grabbing the thing of tissues Kelly assumed he'd been reaching for before he passed out. He coughed for another moment before hacking out a large glob of phlegm.

"T…Thanks…" Harrison looked at the clock and his eyes widened, "I've…missed too much class!" He moved to get up, but Kelly stopped him.

"Harry, you almost died! You weren't breathing! How are you so calm about that?!" After removing the object that caused the choking, he had to keep Harry still until the emergency services came.

Harrison looked away, "It's nothing, just drop it."

"Fat chance." Kelly softened, "I'm worried about you." To his surprise, Harry started crying.

"I-It's not my fault!" He defended, "It's not!" Kelly rubbed Harrison's back,

"I never said it was. I just want to know what's going on, if I need to watch out for that kind of thing again."

Harrison rubbed his eyes, "I have Cystic Fibrosis. It's a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe. There is crap in my lungs, like pus and phlegm. I choke on the phlegm from time to time. I was about to use my inhaler because I had started wheezing, and now I'm here. I guess I passed out."

"Oh…" Kelly pursed his lips, "Well it could be worse, right?"

"Not really. There isn't a cure." Harrison looked away, and Kelly wondered if the emergency services were coming or thought his call was a prank so he listened to his friend, "And while things are improving, as of now, the average lifespan for someone like me is 25 years. According to doctors, I'm going to be dead before or not long after I graduate college!" The tears were coming quickly now, "That's why I work hard in science. I don't want to die. I want to find a cure."

Kelly gasped. The idea of living every single day wondering if he would die today…that was unimaginably painful to think about. And it sounded like this wasn't the first close call.

"Well, I don't think of you any differently, and I won't treat you like you're delicate." Harrison brightened,

"Really? Most kids in elementary school picked on me for being weak."

"Kids are jerks." Kelly shrugged, "But I was raised around nearly three hundred women, so I guess I wasn't exposed to the true horrors of that. Mia and Mor would agree with me."

"Big family?"

"You have no idea."

OoOoO

The school day ended, and apparently prank calls were so normal that services stopped coming—wasn't that illegal? Kelly just knew he was annoyed. So he asked Mavis to drop Harrison off at the hospital. Tazri went with her brother, thanking them for the ride.

When they had dinner that night—first of all, can you imagine how massive that table would have to be. That was why they ate in shifts of twenty—Molly held up the newspaper,

"Local boy saves Harrison Sommers from death at NYMS." She raised an eyebrow, "Kelly, did you have something to do with that?" Kelly blushed, having forgotten that the Sommers family was one of the more famous families in the area, so of course that ended up in the paper.

"So what? I went to get water and found him passed out and not breathing. It wasn't like I was gonna let him die!"

"We're not lecturing you, Kelly Darling." Macy said, "We're proud. There's a hero in there."

"Agreed." Raven, Mor's familiar, replied, "Kelly, you truly are a special one." Kelly could only imagine the embarrassment Harrison was going through if his savior was embarrassed at all the praise. He just smiled,

"Thanks…" he fake yawned, "I'm full, so is it okay if I finish my homework and retire for the night?" The witches looked between each other before nodding.

In truth, Kelly was already done with his homework, so we went to his room and fed Pikko.

"You really did good." Pikko praised. Kelly sighed,

"I did it to help a friend, not to get all the attention. I'm never gonna live it down. So what? I saved the kid of a rich guy. Who cares!?"

"A lot of people." Pikko looked worried, "Do you regret it?"

"No! I'm glad Harry's alive." He sighed, "I just wish I wasn't on the news for it."

"That's the price of doing good deeds." Pikko shrugged, "You're Lionheart, you should know this."

"I guess…" He was interrupted by a knock at his door. Frantically, he put his pajamas on and opened the door to see Amelia standing there,

"Ready to head to the cave?" Kelly nodded, because they went to the cave and then went on patrol.

"Of course I am!"

**A/N: So Harrison has been introduced, yes he has a sister, and Cystic Fibrosis. Yes, that is a real thing. The choking thing is uncommon, but I have seen it happen. **

**And remember to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Hero work**

Amelia was certainly having a far harder time with her studying than she normally would have. She knew all the answers, she could do all the theory and rhetoric regarding the daily questions that were thrown at her on a regular basis. The day itself wasn't anything special either, just the regular challenges she faced on a regular basis, the worst that would be thrown at her would be a textbook on World War.

"Mia, you doing okay?" Morrigan prodded her upper arm with a sharpened pencil, which quickly shot Amelia straight out of her trance. Normally she would be angry at such a rude awakening from her thoughts, but she didn't even have the energy to be so, and Mor was delicate enough as it was..

"Ah... Sorry, Mor." Amelia said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck and giving an awkward smile. "Just... some thoughts got into my head is all."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Personal stuff. I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"Alright, that's fine." Morrigan reassured her twin with a pat on the shoulder. "Just don't stress yourself out."

"Yeah." Amelia nodded with a smile. "A-Anyway, did you need something?"

"Uh, yeah. You got any idea about Chemistry?" Morrigan questioned, pointing towards a basic chemical equation regarding the reactions between Magnesium and Hydrogen Peroxide.

Amelia went over the equation with Morrigan briefly and simply, giving her sister the information she would need to solve the puzzle, without outright telling her the answer. Since the tests were in a few days now, Mor needed to learn how to solve these sorts of sums and questions on her own, or she faced failure.

"You should check with Harry first." Amelia commented upon finishing. "Just to make sure."

"Why Harry?"

"His lessons and goal to find a cure to his illness needs him to understand the basics of this stuff. He's probably a lot more knowledgeable in this area than I am." Amelia answered. It had been a month since Kelly saved Harrison's life, and the boy was now an important part of their friend group. His Cystic Fibrosis was still a secret to just his family and friends. Kelly was actually going over to his place after school to work on homework and look for a cure.

OoOoO

Another blast rippled throughout the district, fire engulfing everything it came into contact with. Civilians ran away, desperate to get to safety, while law enforcement attempted to get close to the lightening themed supervillain, trying their hardest to subdue him. Little success came of this however, results more suggesting that this was a flawed tactic. Many officers wound up with horrible injuries, awful burns, and other ailments.

"Hey!"

That voice alerted the villain immediately to the presence of one of his targets, already here. "So, you showed up."

"What's the point of this mayhem?" Sparrow asked, glaring at the electric flames surrounding her. She had flown into the situation, not taking into account the searing heat, but she didn't let that bother her... even if, as she spoke, a large bead of sweat ran down her forehead.

The police weren't able to do anything about it. So, that left the superhero to try and hold out for time. A thankless task if little else, but then again, so was being a Hero.

"Pretty simple reason, actually kid." The villain responded, grinning at White Sparrow, planning the optimal method of attacking. "I was hoping you'd show up."

"You didn't think to just write a letter?"

"You think you're funny, don't you?"

White Sparrow threw open her arms, indicating to the burning flames that surrounded her. She put on a grin as she made eye contact with her enemy. "What can I say? I'm on _fire_ today."

"Hilarious." The villain cringed at the pun, suddenly feeling very okay with killing this kid. The rigid claw grip formed in his palm. "You're gonna be electrocuted in about ten seconds, so if you wanna make any prayers, now's a good time."

As he finished talking, White Sparrow vanished as she flew faster than light, quickly reappearing behind the Villain, and launching a drop kick to the back of the head. Although read for it, he still lacked the response time, as she was far too quick with her powers. The way she moved was instantaneous, not giving even a second up. "Sorry, I'm not the religious type." she said, landing on her hands and feet, "But I am the type who's ready for a fight."

"God, you're an idiot, kid." The villain mocked, before placing his palms firmly on the ground below them, causing the surface to erupt, electricity shooting towards White Sparrow at high speeds. His understanding of his powers made him very dangerous. The slightest alteration of his movements here or there, and he could destroy her. "Bring it on then!"

…

Kelly sighed, for maybe the tenth time that day. They had finished the homework, but Kelly hadn't truly appreciated how hard it could be to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Mr. Sommers had called Harry for something or other, and then the young boy ran in,

"Harry?"

"Kelly, come see the news right now!" The boy's voice was loud and high pitched.

"Holy—Harry, calm down! What is it?!"

"News! Now!" Harry repeated, still not doing much to keep the tone of his voice down at all. He couldn't think of a time in the three months of knowing him when he remembered Harry's voice being so loud and so high pitched, like he was attempting to break glass with just his voice. He wouldn't be surprised if Harry managed it at this point.

"Stop freaking shouting!" Kelly yelled, but he did as he was told, walking to the television in the living room and he wondered, what the hell Harry thought was so damn interes—

The first thing he saw was White Sparrow dodging a left hook of electricity and heat from a villain.

His mouth dropped, ajar, his eyes shooting wide open, pupils focusing on what was happening in front of him.

What was she doing? Holy crap, what was she doing?!

"You seeing this?!" Harry was clearly very excited.

White Sparrow was fighting The villain?!

Flying quickly, Sparrow got in three good punches in the chest, which winded the electricity-based Villain. She then back-flipped away from the initial retaliation strikes as far as she could, before being blocked off by a sea of white sparks. With the villain dashing in fast, she flew away once more, and re-appeared, launching one of her strong roundhouse-kicks to the side of her target's face.

She was stopped by an electric punch to the gut.

Quickly, Kelly got up.

From the visuals on screen, although the camera that was being used was dealing with having to get its visuals from through a fire, it was clear Sparrow was the underdog in this fight. She was moving and getting in good hits, but the muscular difference between the two was just way too high. The villain was far better built than Sparrow was. And it showed, heavily. Sparrow's powers was also not coming in use, as she didn't seem too keen on using it to injure the Villain. She didn't enjoy killing or causing pain, and it was seriously being her undoing right about now.

He still couldn't leave her…

"Harry, I promised Mor that I would head home if there was an attack. I'm sorry I have to go."

"That's fine." Harry said calmly, "Just be careful, kay?" Kelly nodded and ran out the door, running past Tazri and sprinting into an alleyway.

"Pikko, transform me!"

…

Skidding away on her hands and knees once again after another failure of an attack, Sparrow gritted her teeth.

The villain was still going on strong, easily still going at full capacity, despite having taken a large number of hits. He showed no signs whatsoever of slowing down. Instead, he proved that he was going stronger than ever before. She'd had a hell of a time avoiding all of those strikes, and was still doing what little she could to not get incinerated. She thanked God no civilians were around.

At this rate, she wasn't going to last much longer. She glared at the villain, cursing him under her breath. "Damnit!"_ Kels, please hurry._

"Give up yet?!" His shrill voice called over the electric fire surrounding them.

Knowing she wasn't going to win this fight herself, all Sparrow could think to do was to hold out for long enough that Kelly could show up. It wasn't like she was working with much other choice anymore. It was this, or she ended up getting killed.

Not a hard choice to make.

"Rrrgh!" Channelling every bit of strength that she had left within him, she flew as high as she could above the villain, and allowed gravity to bring her down. As she fell, she allowed her Sonic Blast to activate, launching ice and wind, and coating it on her hands.

She landed securely atop the villain, her powers ripping off a chunk of flesh, and a large portion of the costume, but it wasn't anywhere near enough. The villain almost seemed totally immune to the pain that came with the strike, just immediately grabbing her and tossing her onto the ground.

Rolling out of the way of her neck being stomped on, Sparrow swept her legs to the left, hitting the villain in the weakened part of the back of the legs, causing him to stumble due to his balance being thrown off. Taking advantage of this brief second of weakness and imbalance, Sparrow quickly swung back around, and slammed a powerful back-leg front-kick square in the face of her target.

Following that, she then dashed in to throw a reverse punch, but she suddenly found her wrist being grabbed, and then tossed aside, all in one quick, clean sweep. The pain of the electricity was there instantaneously, and White Sparrow couldn't help but let out an uncontrolled scream in pain. "Aaaargh!"

Yet another injury to add to her ever growing list of them. She was starting to feel like a glorified punching bag.

Her body wouldn't move anymore, unable to respond to the constant pain she had undergone.

"You're finished." The villain said behind a lopsided, disturbingly creepy smile.

Then he disappeared into a cube of rock.

It took Sparrow a few seconds to process what the hell had just happened. She stared at the sudden cube of solid rock, hearing a pounding coming from the inside. Apparently, it was hollow, yet thick enough that the villain couldn't just get out of the cube. Once processed, Sparrow smirked.

"You seem to like the whole 'Trap them in boxes' thing, don't you, Lionheart?" She asked, knowing he could hear her, wherever he was.

Jumping in from his heightened position, Lionheart knelt by White Sparrow, helping her sit up. "It works, doesn't it? King's Pride is quite useful." They both heard the beeping of their Miraculouses and knew they had to wrap this up quickly.

"Indeed it does, Cub."

Lionheart turned as the two suddenly saw a spark, followed by the rubble of tarmac flying at them. The villain had used his powers in such a manner that he had managed to blast a hole through his bituminous surface prison. His hands now raw and bloody, his glare was furious, and his anger unrivaled.

Lionheart grabbed his bow and arrow, shooting the villain in the shoulder, pinning him to the wall.

"Impressive." Sparrow complimented, attempting to stand up, to no avail. "Rrrrrr!"

"Stay down..." Lionheart ordered her firmly. Sparrow was depending on him right now. "I'll take it from here."

_Don't panic,_ he told himself, y_ou can do this._

He was quickly interrupted in his thoughts when the villain began to throw his various strikes at him. He backed off, away from the first one, and ducked to avoid the next hook to his head. He side stepped to next punch, managing to keep his body parts limp, and viable for dodging far more smoothly.

Lionheart grabbed the arrow that was embedded in his opponent's shoulder and forced it in deeper.

"Gah!"

The villain attempted to crush Lionheart's neck with an over-bearing punch, but he slammed his face with a tarmac-based fist, which erupted from the ground.

"You did it." Sparrow beamed. Then they heard the more insistent beeping and both ran off.

OoOoO

Amelia smiled back at her, and nodded. "You know... you were incredible back there."

"Huh?"

"It's a terrifying experience, being in a fight." Amelia grinned, looking around the cave, "No matter how brave someone acts when they fight, they're always worried, always scared, if only just a little bit. No one wants to lose a fight. No one wants to be punched in the face. No one wants to be beaten. Those are all fears fighters have to deal with when they get into a conflict." She spoke from experience, and he could tell. "There's nothing wrong with being afraid during a fight, especially against someone like a villain... but you faced him back there. You fought him, and you won. I have always had powers, and you're already the better hero."

Kelly took her words deep to heart, smiling yet again.

"It's cool, Mia. If you want to know how I do it…" he smirked, "You take my dish week." Amelia gasped in horror, because cleaning over a thousand dishes daily for seven days was a damn nightmare.

"Not fair, Kels!"

"It's plenty fair." He put his hands on his hips, "So are ya gonna take the deal?" Amelia crossed her arms and huffed,

"How about we split dishes that week."

"Deal. Makane's been helping me."

"You bastard, it's that easy?!"

"Yup. And now you are doomed to help me with dishes."

"NOOOOOO!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yes, massive time jump, but there is important things in this prologue and not much happens during ages 11-14, so we are now at age 15.**

**Chapter 5**

Four years had passed. Kelly and Amelia were an extremely popular superhero duo, and had been unstoppable. Morrigan had started opening up as well. Harrison was still their best friend, but his illness was getting worse. Tazri was traveling around the world to find a cure for her dying brother.

Currently, Kelly was going to his part-time job at the recycling plant, because he needed volunteer hours to graduate.

Classes had been going on throughout the week, he had been learning a huge amount from everything he'd been doing. From combat practice classes and Enrichment lessons, and combined with his being a superhero? He was becoming more and more combat capable with every day—Makane was a huge help as well—and his powers were coming in useful when he was able to use them as he was comfortable with.

Enwrapped in his thoughts, he found himself at the Disposal Dumps within a very short amount of time. At around this time, the streets were still active, many people walking to and from places, and the Disposal Dump was still open, although it was nearing the closing times. The dumping ground looked akin to that of a production factory combined with a junkyard, as the building was tall and large, pumping a ginormous cloud of white steam into the sky, a result of their water based cooling equipment. The building itself was fairly grey, with a few dulled out windows. Surrounding the building and its premises, was a high, metallic wall, designed to keep people from seeing the goods that the junkyard held, but also to keep them out to boot. Barbed wire acted as a deterrent to anyone who wanted to climb over the construct. Of course, attempts were still made.

Walking through the door, Kelly was greeted by the receptionist, whom he actually knew fairly well, since he showed up here like clockwork, at least one time a week. The receptionist was a mid-twenties woman.

"Hey Jen." Jen looked up,

"Good evening, Kelly." She said, "The team needs some help, so you came at the perfect time."

His shift only lasted a few hours, and he spent his time chatting with the people who worked there full-time.

He began to turn to leave, but suddenly, he heard what sounded like a scream, from the other side of the wall. High pitched, like a young child, and suddenly, footsteps, and next, panicked screams. Something was happening, right outside.

"What the hell?" Kelly muttered to himself.

In that exact moment, a glow of green shimmered over the wall, heat seeming to radiate from it. It seemed to go over the entire dumps courtyard, causing the air above it to become humid and warm. Many were prompted to run away out of a lack of understanding and concern for their well-being. Those who remained saw the wall closest to Kelly begin to melt down, through the use of a heating power. The ones who hadn't run away now began to.

Excluding Kelly.

Unlike the civilians, Kelly ducked behind one of the many piles of materials, and Pikko emerged. They knew what was happening. It wasn't like these were uncommon occurrences.

The steel wall now weakened enough for the thug to move it with their bodyweight, the metal was quickly ripped apart, and from it, came a group of three people. All of them wore balaclavas, hiding their appearances from view, and none of them wearing anything obvious that would give away their anatomy or boost their powers. Each of them was wearing the black balaclava, a grey trench coat, and were carrying a duffel bag each.

"Make this quick, boys!" The one who stepped through the wall first, the one with the melting powers, declared, already dashing into the compound to grab as many valuable things as he could. "Before those superheroes show up, get ready to go!" Because the Blackwell witches had a lot of powers that could destroy the economy, there was a rule that they needed to dispose valuable materials to the recycling plant, which had given this place a reputation as a treasure trove.

Villains. Thugs. People who were desperate, or stupid. Attempting to attack such a facility in order to steal the minerals inside it to make some very quick, very easy, and very valuable cash.

Yet Kelly—Lionheart—was here.

"Am I safe?" He wondered aloud, before shrugging, "Pikko, transform me!"

Another one of the thugs ran over near his location, grabbing fistfuls of amethysts and rubies, and shoving them into their large bag. Six, seven, eight hands full later, he moved to another pile, this time, one made of gold and crustal. Another seven, nine, eleven handfuls, before he went to the pile Kelly had hidden behind.

Five handfuls. Seven handfuls….

And a swift kick to the back of the head, directly in the pressure point, from Lionheart. The kick smacked the thug's head into a pile, the added weight and sudden movement at the base causing a figurative ton of the rocks to fall atop him, rendering him totally out cold if the kick hadn't done so already.

Lionheart grinned. No one had seen his changing into his costume, and he'd gotten a sneak attack off on one of the thugs. Right now, while it was two to one, he was the one who had gained the upper hand.

"Two!" One of the thugs called out, with clear anger and frustration. Two, presumably being the code name the thug Lionheart had rendered unable to fight had selected, in order to hide who they were. In a way, their code names and masks made them similar to Kelly. Except Lionheart was a superhero. Two was a thief and a thug.

Lionheart stood with his feet apart, and his guard up. His brown hair blew slightly with the wind. Since he had been training for years, he had developed some humble muscle structure, which was made a bit more obvious thanks to this costume. His calves were obviously more bulk, and he had some muscle to his biceps. Not a huge amount, and nothing close to Makane's level, but it was enough to have given him a new level of physical prowess he hadn't been entirely sure he would ever gain in his life.

"Make this easier and just give it up." He told the would-be thieves. "I don't really have a lot of patience today. I'm frustrated. So just give it up and let's skip a fight."

"Like hell!" Another one of the thieves yelled, this time, a woman's voice. Clearly defiant, it was clear that despite taking a subordinate role in this operation, she was one of the far more seasoned criminals here. Taking up a fighting stance, she prepared to take a stand against the Superhero in front of her. She seemed to be getting ready to grab a device from her pockets. The superhero refused to let her.

Smirking, Lionheart pulled out his bow and arrows, launching the arrows.

However, the female was prepared for this, and activated her power, which allowed her to propel herself off the ground and into the sky. Reaching into her trench coat, she pulled out a handgun, a model Glock 17. With impressive aim for someone who was falling through the sky, she began to pull the trigger rapidly, unloading an entire clip of twelve bullets at the young teenager, with remorseless and ruthless fury and not a second's hesitation. Apparently she felt nothing towards murdering a child in cold blood.

Lionheart had no time to dwell on this however, as he saw the female thug attempting to land on him, with the intention to crush him. A fresh clip was loaded, so he rolled out of the way, and attempted to disarm the woman as she fell. Her hands reached for the Glock 17, only to be whacked away by the female.

"Get off!" The thug declared, and launched an elbow strike straight for Lionheart's throat.

Pushing back on his refined calves, Lionheart was able to back out of the way, and then roll behind a pile of gold as the bullets began to come firing in. Being shot at was certainly a new experience, but after everything he had learned at Combat Practice, and through his superhero work with Amelia, he was able to keep him cool and handle it with relative ease. He was calm. He was cool.

He was going to win this fight.

"Come out, little Hero!" The female thug jeered, using her power to jump quickly to the wall, so she was able to get a clear shot at Lionheart. Landing on the side, and remaining there for just a few seconds while she aligned her next jump, the crook was met by a boy in fighting stance. The superhero was ready for this eventuality. He had already figured out how this power worked.

Unable to prevent to activation of her power again before she could cancel the jump, the girl sped towards him, and was met with a merciless right hook to the face. The force gave the female thug a nosebleed, and slammed her into the ground, letting out a sickening cough as she did so.

"No way am I done!" She loudly, and defiantly declared, before she found herself rocketing into the air once again, smirking in the fact she had managed to get away from him again. She wiped her bloodied nose, and reached for her pistol again.

It hadn't been a part of the plan to get captured. It never was a plan to have the Heroes come after you. If they were caught before they'd managed to get the jewels, the plan had been for her to use her power to get the group out of there. But the hell with that right now. She was going to kill that cocky—

It wasn't there.

The pistol was gone.

She checked again, and again, and again again. "What the hell?! Where's my gun?!"

"This what you're looking for?"

Glancing just below her, the female thug saw Lionheart rising up with her, the gun the criminal was wielding prior in the teenager's hands.

Lionheart threw the gun aside and allowed it to fall from this incredible height, and grabbed the female thug by the collar, grinning. "You're not getting away this time! I figured out your power! You have a jumping power—you can only leap incredibly high, and not suffer any falling damage, but you can only do it from a solid surface! Meaning, in the air, without your gun–" He slammed his right fist into her jaw, with as much force as he possibly could muster. " –You're powerless!"

It was exactly as Lionheart stated. The crooked woman only kept a gun on her because her own ability was worthless when it came to combat. A few failures of what could only be described as attempted fist-fighting, the female thug was rendered unconscious, after knocking out a;; the air the woman had in her lungs with a powerful knee strike to the gut.

Lionheart landed perfectly, using his defeated foe as a landing pad, since she had an immunity to falling damage, and threw the woman into a pile of paper, which like the first individual, encased her, and guaranteed she wouldn't be escaping any time soon.

"Alright, that's two down…" Lionheart muttered with a deep exhale, letting out the breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding in, despite the clear supremacy he had over this group, and the very obvious skill he held over their combat ability, being shot at certainly was nerve racking in the worst possible way.

All that was left was the final thug. If the guy was calling the shots, he was probably going by the name of One, Lionheart mused. Where was—

"S-Stay there!"

—he?

Lionheart turned around, to see the criminal staring him down, having apparently grabbed hold of the Glock he had thrown aside. It was in his right handle, and he could hear the rattles it made as his hands shook. His left hand was glowing that same emerald green that his melting power gave him, sheeting his features in a pale green light. Judging from the clear fear he was showing, he was young, and hadn't faced down a sort of situation like this before.

And he certainly hadn't handled a gun before. There wasn't a reason for him to have, with his power. The chances were that he was holding onto the weapon right now because he was scared, and felt that this weapon would help him be safer. In actuality, pointing it at the superhero he was supposed to be shooting, it was just making him feel worse.

"I said don't move!" He repeated, straightening his arms. "Turning is moving!"

"You actually said to stay here." Lionheart informed him. "I haven't moved from this spot." He didn't think there was a real need to fight this person. It was clear he wasn't going to shoot him. He didn't want to. Why he was even here, that was a better question.

Looking between his two fallen companions, One gritted his teeth, and tried to look dangerous and intimidating by narrowing his eyebrows. He put a low growl onto his voice, making him sound like he had a throat filled with gravel. "Put–Put your hands in the air!"

"Don't do this." Lionheart said simply, not even pretending to comply with One's demands.

One looked at him for a second, before he pulled back the chamber of the gun, letting out an empty shell. "I said put your damned hands up!"

"You don't want to be here, do you?"

"What?!"

"Doing this. I don't think you even particularly want to be doing this sort of thing. I saw how you hesitated after you used your melting ability on me earlier. Even when your friend was shooting at me, you still looked uneasy."

Taken aback that the superhero had paid so much attention to his expressions in such a short time frame, One lowered the weapon for just a second, before quickly tensing up, refusing to allow himself to be talked down like an infant. "Sh-Shut up! I'm walking away from here, with – with a bag full of valuables! I'll take them, and live like a king!"

What had caused this person to this sort of life? Desperation? Debt? Perhaps he had family who needed money in order to keep their home, or maybe he had been colluded into doing this by his comrades. Or maybe The PuppetMaster had put him up to this. Whatever the reason, for some logic defying explanation, he had been put in charge of this robbery attempt, since he had been calling the shots.

Perhaps it was because he was smart? Or maybe it was because he was malleable.

"You don't believe that, do you?" Kelly asked, taking a step towards him. In truth, he was sweating. Having a gun pointed at him, no matter how nervous the one holding it was, was honestly terrifying. The entire world could turn black in one second, and it would all be over. He had to tread carefully, or end up with a bullet to the head. "You don't honestly think that."

He didn't say it like he was asking him. He was saying it like he knew. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to shoot her. He didn't want to kill. These weren't guesses, nor were they assumptions. He knew.

Not that that reassured him. All it took was one nervous twitch of the finger and he'd have a hole in his brain.

"Stay back I said!"

"If you shoot me… the Heroes probably won't care too much. In fact, you might get lucky, and they might even see you as the person who stopped one of the evil Superheroes of New York. You might even be allowed to skip jail time for doing such a service to the city." Kelly swallowed, and took another few steps closer, knowing fully well he was playing with fire.

Another tremble came from One's hands.

"But you don't want that, do you? You don't want to kill anyone. I don't know why you're even here. Maybe they forced you to come along." He gestured to the individuals he had rendered unable to move. "But… I think you're not like them at all."

Another step.

"I think you're a good person behind that mask." Another tremble. "You don't have to do this."

One final step, and the gun was now directly against his forehead. All One had to do was pull the trigger, and Lionheart would be gone. There was no chance for error. It was impossible to miss, impossible to fail in this scenario. Lionheart would die right now if he pulled the trigger. But he would forever be considered a villain for killing one of the city's heroes.

He steeled himself.

And dropped the gun. He couldn't do it. He couldn't take a life. He fell to his knees. "I… Give…"

Lionheart left all the criminals tied up in the streets outside the Deposit Depot, with a note attached to One's shirt, asking the police to go easy on him. He hoped One would be let off easier than his companions. At the end of the day, he was a criminal still… but he clearly regretted even being there in the first place. Maybe there was a chance for his redemption.

But he'd done everything he could for him. It would have to be enough.

He found an alley somewhere he knew people rarely ventured, and detransformed, quickly, just in case someone decided they would be randomly in view of this place at this time of all times. Thankfully, there didn't seem to have been anyone around to see her do this.

No one had seen him transform back into plain old Kelly, the boy who was kind to everyone and made friends easily. He had to chuckle.

He didn't notice someone watch him walk away.

OoOoO

Mara was more than aware of the rules regarding the use her magic in public. It was risky, she knew that. Mortals were stupid, and with her mother sending out enemies to search for the Negojre stone, they were even more reluctant to use magic in public.

Although, the rule was a bit more accepting of things such as movement abilities, as long as they were very carefully regulated. That was why, every time Mara used her Winnowing Power in public—to get home, get to school or otherwise—technically speaking, she was skirting her mother's rule. Winnowing inherently didn't endanger the people around her, and she was very careful not to get caught when she did this.

That was why she was jumping from rooftop to rooftop above the city streets, winnowing from one building to the next. Normally she wouldn't do such a thing, but today, she was in a hurry to get back home. Those thieves they sent had failed, and she needed to report to her mother.

She winnowed over another rooftop, before she skidded to a halt at the edge of one with ragged breath, which she kept quiet to not alert anyone who happened to be nearby. In need of recharging her stamina, she needed just a few seconds of—

What. The. Hell.

Eyes shot as open as they were ever going to get in her entire life, and her blood suddenly stopped. Cold. She didn't even feel her blood flowing throughout her body anymore. Had her circulatory system ceased to function? Did she even care? What relevance did these thoughts have to what this was anymore? She didn't care. About anything right now.

_No. Way._

What she was looking at right now had her shocked. Silent. Beyond all words. For all the two-hundred-thousand words of her spoken language, not a single one of them was going to be enough to express what she was looking at. Was she mistaken? No. There was no mistaking those bright blue eyes. That mask.

There was no denying who it was that had just detransformed and revealed his civilian clothes underneath.

And there was no mistaking that face. Even if it was at a top down angle, Mara recognized that face.

Lionheart… was Kelly.

_Holy. Shit._

Mara couldn't believe it. She couldn't, not even for a second, comprehend what she was looking at. Lionheart was Kelly? That sweet, brunette boy who they had raised for ten years?! That was the boy she had been trying to kill for almost half a decade now?

_That_ was _Kelly_?!

Her heart thudded loudly. Incredibly loudly. In fact, it beat so loudly, Kelly craned his head around the alleyway in which he had detransformed, looking for the source. Mara quickly pulled back out of view, so she wouldn't be seen.

Lionheart had been so close to her all this time?

There was only one word that could describe how she felt now…

And that word was rage.

She ran to the manor and barged into her mother's room.

"Mother!" Regina turned,

"Yes Mara?"

"Kelly is Lionheart! And I think that means Amelia is White Sparrow!" Regina's eyes widened,

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Regina growled, clenching her fists, before cackling like your typical evil witch.

"Well then, darling. It's time to set a trap for them." Mara knew this meant she would have to kill her own sister and the boy who was basically her brother.

And she'd do it with a Cheshire smile.

OoOoO

Morrigan was reading quietly when she felt someone behind her. She was surprised to see a young man there.

"Hello Morrigan." He said, "Or should I say Phantom Queen?" Morrigan hesitated,

"Who are you?" He shrugged,

"I am Judge. No really, that's my name. I was created to be the Judge of the Afterlife. And you see…the Death in charge of magical creatures got killed by Cradh, so we need a replacement, and you are the best candidate." Morrigan frowned,

"What?" He nodded,

"No more need to fear your powers. You can be who you want to be, not in anyone's shadow. And eventually, you can have command over your mother." She stood up,

"But what about Kelly and Amelia and Harry?"

"Safe." Judge assured, "All you need to do is say yes. And the world is yours."

Morrigan hesitated. If she did this, she might never see them again. But it was worth it. But…

"Give me a few days to get everything in order. Then you have a deal." She went to shake his hand, and he narrowed his eyes at the gloves.

"No gloves." Morrigan took a shaky breath and removed her gloves, shaking his hand. And he wasn't dead from contact, "Well Morrigan Blackwell, welcome to the Council of Deaths."

**A/N: So we get to see Morrigan joining the council, and Regina and Mara plotting to take down Kelly and Amelia. There will be more Amelia-centric chapters coming.**

**And as usual, remember to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Mor?" Amelia looked towards her twin, who had been very closed off the last few days. She, like all of the sisters, had been acting very strange over the last week, and Amelia was sick of it, "What's going on?" Kelly was with Tazri and Harrison, comforting them after another distressing doctor's appointment.

Morrigan looked from where she had been staring off into space, "Hm? Oh…" she sighed, "Mia…you would always love me, right? No matter what I do?" Amelia frowned,

"Of course. What could you possibly do to make me hate you?" Morrigan shrugged, letting Raven rest on her shoulder.

Then Kelly came running over to them with Tazri, both looking frantic.

"Kels? Taz?" Amelia then noticed the piece of paper in Tazri's hand, "Where's Harry?" Kelly put the letter in her hands, and she paled.

_Want him to live? White Sparrow and Lionheart, I know who you are. Meet me on North Brother Island tonight, or you'll find his corpse in the morning. _

_\- Alpha (and crew)_

Tazri looked between Kelly and Amelia, "Is it true?" They both looked to each other, and then to Morrigan who saw the note and paled, looking at them both, equally shocked. Amelia was the first to sigh and nod,

"Yeah…But…how could this 'Alpha' find out our identities?!" Tazri shrugged,

"It doesn't matter right now. My priority is the fact I went to grab some water and then suddenly my little brother was gone, replaced with a note that says the heroes need to get there or he dies!" Morrigan raised a hand,

"I-I can help…" She said, "I can send Raven ahead to scout." Tazri then grabbed all three and dragged them to the Sommers Family Estate and to her bedroom.

"Okay, so I can get a helicopter to the island." She said, "But we would need to be dropped off at the edge of the island. North Brother Island has a tumultuous history of quarantining people suffering from diseases like yellow fever and tuberculosis. More infamous, however, was the island's close proximity to the disaster of the General Slocum, a ship that caught fire and sank in the East River. More than 1,000 people died; their bodies washed up on the island for days."

"So I won't be bothered." Morrigan said, sighing, "Okay, Tazri, you need to know something else about the Blackwell family. We're witches, every last one of us." Tazri looked between Amelia and Morrigan, then to Kelly.

Kelly shrugged, "I'm normal and they adopted me. Mor's powers are that of the Phantom Queen—deathtouch, shapeshifting, death omens—and Amelia has speed and flight." Tazri gave a nonchalant hand gesture,

"Doesn't matter right now." She said, "Actually, that comes in handy. Morrigan, use your bird to lookout, find Harrison and the enemies, and come back. Amelia and Kelly, you two transform and go in opposite directions to fight. While that happens, I'll grab Harrison and get him out." Amelia shook her head,

"Taz, you don't have powers." Tazri shot her a withering glare,

"Does it look like I care?" It really didn't. There were no fucks to be found. Besides, they all knew Tazri was a capable fighter. And if someone hurt her little brother, she would beat their ass. Kelly wouldn't be surprised if Tazri alone could handle this villain. If they found other Miraculouses, she would be a perfect candidate.

Raven cawed, and Morrigan opened the window, sending the bird to fly away. Then Tazri grabbed someone to fly the family chopper.

Kelly and Amelia looked to each other, then to their kwamis. Jaay groaned,

"Stupid villains, I wanted s'mores!" Pikko smacked his arm,

"Show some sensitivity! Harrison is a good kid, and now he's been kidnapped!" Morrigan looked at the two kwamis, looking really sad. She had been acting really down the last few weeks, but the expression on her face here was the most brokenhearted and depressed look either had seen.

"I'm so sorry, Mor." Kelly said, "For not telling you…we just didn't want to put you in danger like Harry is now. We didn't tell him either." He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. It was no secret that he had a little crush on her, but was too nervous to say anything since they had known each other since they were little. Morrigan looked up at him with teary eyes,

"I understand. I won't always be around either, so you need someone you can always confide in." Kelly held her close and Amelia joined the hug.

"We're still a team." He said, "Once we save Harry, no more secrets. Maybe you can be a hero with us." Morrigan nodded a little, but neither noticed her eyes reveal her broken heart since her face was buried in Kelly's shirt.

Tazri came back, her hair tied in a ponytail, "Chopper's here. Hate to break this up, but we are saving my brother now." The group broke apart and they ran to the helicopter and took off to go save their friend.

OoOoO

Mara growled for the umpteenth time. Why did her mother insist they do this whole plan? They could just wait under Kelly and Amelia got home from school and kill them, but no, Regina insisted on kidnapping the Sommers boy and pretending to be other villains.

Plural? Yeah, she had six of her worthless sisters with her. It was painful really, because she knew she could do this on her own, and she only got Maya here with promise of Yaoi, so she was put in charge of guarding Harrison under the guise of the Pink Horny Ranger—which was a running joke and not the actual villain codename.

She was currently sitting atop the large bird cage they had Harrison in. The youth had been making annoying noises for the past five minutes and it was pissing her off.

"Stop crying, boy!" She snapped. Harrison looked up, but she noted he wasn't crying, he didn't even look all that afraid—almost smug actually. Then what was with the noises? She looked to Maggie—or Pied Piper—who played her flute to control him into telling her what was with the noises. Harrison put both hands to his throat in an odd way.

It was Mikayla—or Hellcat, since she had cat powers and could even change into one—who figured out what he was saying, "He can't breathe!" She opened the cage and managed to get a glob of brown shit out of his system. Mara expected that to be the end of it, she did not expect Harrison to elbow Mikayla in the face and make a break for it.

Martha—or Spiral, due to her cyclone powers—watched the young man run, "Huh…Didn't see that coming." Mara gaped at her idiot sisters,

"Do I seriously have to spell it out for you? GO GET HIM!" Mithian—Freefall, since she had the same powers as Amelia—looked frightened, and ran off with Mila—or Blackout, with her sleep powers.

They came back a minute or two later with Harrison fast asleep being carried between them, and Mikayla threw the youth into the cage and chained up his wrists this time.

"Don't think I'll save your life next time." Harrison woke up and smirked,

"You really think two superheroes are going to come for me?" He asked, "Sure, I'm the son of wealthy parents, but they have Tazri, and I'm already dying. Threaten to kill me all you want, I've been told countless times I won't live to see thirty. I'm already halfway done with life. I am sick, and tired, and I can think of four people who see me and not a weak kid! Two superheroes are not going to bother saving me."

Mara was actually shocked by his answer. It was rare to see someone like him, so unfazed by the thought of death. All of the people she captured and killed on her mother's orders begged and pleaded for her to spare them. But here was this fetus—and since Mara was three hundred years old, she had a right to refer to the teenager as a fetus—not caring about the idea that he could be dead in the morning. She could sense the curse radiating off from his blood, but did he know?

"Does your curse make you so jaded?" She asked, "Or do you really want to die that badly?" Harrison frowned,

"Curse?" Huh? Humans confused her. So did he want to die? She was an immortal witch, yet this was the first time she had ever seen someone accepting of death, so she didn't know what it was.

"The curse on your family." She wasn't lying, she actually avoided lying—but had no qualms with withholding information—and she could sense that curse, "From what I can tell, for the last thousand years, your family is cursed so the firstborn son suffers from severe bad luck. " Harrison then gasped quietly,

"So that's why doctor's tell me I'm screwed? It is odd behavior. And why I am so much sicker than others like me." He looked at his hands, "And any son I could have…" then he shrugged, "Whatever. I am curious about the curse, but I'm still going to be killed."

"Are you saying you want to die?" Harrison shrugged,

"Not really, but it's not like I have any say in it. Death happens. Yes, as a scientist I want to find the cure to my illness, but overpopulation would very quickly occur if death was always prevented. You put a lot of things into perspective when you are told you won't survive to thirty from the time you are three, just try to be good with the time you have."

Mara took a moment to think about what he was saying. She had never had to think about death, because she knew she was immortal. She had no reason to try and be good, because any guilt would go away after a few decades. Still, her mother would be livid if she let this boy go for a simple reason of him making intriguing points. So she put on her 'mean' face, and turned to the other witches,

"Scout the area." She ordered, "Alert me when the heroes show up." The witches ran off and Mara smirked, matching the smug expression on the youth's face, "Don't be so smug. Lionheart and White Sparrow will come for you."

"And why are you so sure?"

"Because their true identities are Kelly Carpenter and Amelia Blackwell." Finally! He looked scared! There was a hint of betrayal in his eyes, but mostly understanding. The rest of him had lost all color.

"If you touch them…"

"You wouldn't be able to do anything about it, seeing as you are the one chained up in the cage." Mila came running in,

"Spiral and Freefall are down! Pied Piper has run away. Hellcat is still around, and I am too." Mara growled,

"If you want someone dead, you have to do it yourself." She looked up at Maya, who couldn't give less of a fuck about this.

"Are you going to help at all?" Maya looked up,

"I'm only here to watch the superhero save his prince and watch them share true loves kiss then follow them home." Harrison's expression was now completely appalled,

"NO! Kelly and I are _not_ like that! If you're gay, power to you, but I am not and unless I'm _really_ missing something, Kelly isn't either." Maya winked,

"Not yet at least." Mara was with Harrison on this one,

"Maya, we are here to _kill_ Kelly. This isn't part of your horny scheme." Maya then looked seriously offended,

"Fuck you then, I'm out." She got up and left, leaving Mara's numbers in half in a matter of minutes. This was why she worked alone.

"Blackout, guard him."

"Yes, Alpha." Mara walked up to the roof and waited for the heroes to come. But Harrison's words stuck with her. She massaged her temples. No. Her mother was the correct one, humans were all selfish little insects. This Harrison boy just had another tactic.

So why did she feel doubt? She had seen thousands of humans, and Kelly was the only good one since he had been raised by them—or she had thought he was good. Turns out he was like all the others.

She dug her nails into her palms, creating little half-moons. Harrison's words replaying in her head. Did she want to kill Amelia and Kelly? Strike down her family? Yes, she had killed sisters before, but it wasn't malicious. Either they fell into her traps or she lost control of the Spears of Gungnir and used them on accident. She remembered the nights she would cry herself to sleep and her mother would call her weak.

It was because she wanted to make her mother proud that she worked so hard. She got the most attention due to her powers, so Regina wanted to mold Mara to be just like her.

What did Amelia see in these humans? That was the real question. They killed, they mated, they made more of them. It was rather simple. So what was so interesting about them?

Nothing. She just needed the location of the Negojre stone, then maybe her mother would finally say "I'm proud of you."

She stood up, looking for the heroes, only to not find them. They must still be fighting Mikayla. Mara clenched her fist. She was going to kill them, no matter the cost.

Meanwhile

Lionheart and White Sparrow had gone off in separate directions. Morrigan was in the form of a raven to act as lookout for Tazri and also acting as a messaging system. Turns out Sparrow and Tazri had already taken out a villain—which should shock him with Tazri not having powers, but he'd known she was a badass for a long time.

Then he came face to face with his own.

Lionheart gritted his teeth sharply, realizing he was in for a fight with this villain. Instead of deciding to run, he aimed to get as much information out of her as he could before he made his run to save his friend.

"Where the hell is Harrison?! I swear, if you've laid a hand on him—"

"Your friend is fine. Little shaken and unconscious when I saw him last, but fine." The witch assured, before showing off a set of claws. "I'd be a bit more worried about yourself."

Hellcat was a very blunt and straightforward kind of person, not particularly wasting any of his words from what Lionheart could tell. She was being as forward as someone could get.

"Tell me something, do you believe in the 'Survival-Of-The-Fittest'?" Hellcat asked, now circling around Lionheart, keeping eye contact with him at all times. From her accent, Lionheart was able to tell Hellcat had grown up in New York. Her use of language was on point, perfect, and she wasn't at all struggling. "The philosophy of those who are born weak must either become strong, or die weak, with no other purpose than making the strong stronger. Do you believe that our society should bend to this rule?"

"No. I don't." Lionheart flatly refused the idea outright. "In nature, maybe… but we're civilized. We don't live like that. The weak are the foundation for the strong, and they can become strong in themselves." Lionheart shook his head suddenly. "Stop trying to distract me. I want Harrison. Let him go!" "

"We witches do." Hellcat explained, ignoring the demand from her opponent and going into her own rantings. "Our Powers are something we are born with, and we can pass our powers onto our offspring, ensuring our genes are passed down to the future generations. But in order to make our species stronger, we have no use for the weak." Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. Not moving. Not even breathing. "The boy was weak enough to let himself get captured, and he's already dying. Essentially, a lost cause. Something I do not understand about you humans, why would you want someone like that still in your gene pool holding your kind back?"

"He's my friend, that's why." Lionheart responded without any hesitation whatsoever.

"You pick odd friends then." Hellcat sighed. She bore her teeth, and got into a fighting stance. "No use putting this off any longer."

Lionheart got into a fighting stance of his own, ready to intercept any attacks he had to from this witch. He felt more than a little smug that this was a witch, since fighting witches was his specialty. The two of them exchanged silent glares and glances at one another, both of them trying to figure out exactly what it was making the other tick, observing any weak points that may exist in the other targets defenses.

Hellcat made the first move, suddenly charging at Lionheart at an incredible speed, utilizing her speed in full. She managed to close the ten meter gap between the two in less than a second, and was already launching a back handed strike towards the his neck.

Reflexes in check however, Lionheart was able to jump behind and above Hellcat, and launched a spinning back kick to the closest area to the vertebrae on the witch. With the thick skin she had, and the inhumane anatomy—almost like that of a cat—Lionheart took a guess, and unleashed a brutal strike.

The move didn't do much, however, and Hellcat didn't even seem phased by it. Instead, she quickly turned herself on her heels, and slashed at Lionheart with her sharp claws, with were only deflected by the protection of his outfit. It managed to deflect the attack, but Lionheart could feel the impact like a truck.

Quickly, Lionheart jumped backwards, attempting to get his bearings, but as soon as he landed, she was able to see the cat-like witch already aiming for him, this time with a left jab aimed at the head. A range finder, Lionheart recognized, a technique used for determining how far away an opponent was, and how for the next attack would have to travel to hit said target. It allowed the user to then close said distance for a more impactful strike.

Moving with deliberate care, Lionheart evaded the strike, and grabbed hold of Hellcat's arm, and jumped about fifty feet in the air, and falling fast, onto the dirt they were just fighting on.

"Woah!"

As soon as he had leapt up, with equal speed, he fell back onto the pavement, and watched from a distance as the witch plummeted into the dirt. Cat-Witch adaptations or not, that wouldn't help her much against the force that was gravity.

But it wasn't even close to enough to so much as scratch Hellcat.

As soon as she had appeared from the river, the witch teenager leaped out of the dust cloud with every one of her teeth showing, claws primed, and bloodlust now frenzied.

Ducking away from the attack, Lionheart leaned in, and unleashed a flurry of punches onto the jawline of his opponent, none of which did even the slightest thing towards knocking out his enemy.

Hellcat had a ruthless streak, and she had a method of fighting that suited her best, and that was to use whatever she could to win a battle. She had no qualms about doing whatever it was she had to do to win a match, regardless of how dirty a trick she had to play.

With Lionheart so close, Hellcat saw an opportunity to inflict some very harsh, very dangerous damage to him. And she took it.

Jaw unhinged, she shifted into a panther and lunged forward, and chomped down with absolutely crushing force onto Lionheart's right shoulder blade. Teeth designed to never let a target go pierced Lionheart's skin, and sunk into his flesh almost instantly. It wasn't enough force to kill, or to rip off his limb, but it was more than enough force to cause serious damage.

"Aaaargh!" Lionheart screamed in agony at the sheer level of pain he was experiencing. The more Lionheart struggled, the larger the slices on his person, but if he didn't resist, the deeper these teeth would sink in. "Get off me!"

He attempted a few pathetic attempts at punching the witch, but it didn't do anything. His own strength was fading fast. Another attempt didn't make a difference either.

There was one thing she could do…Hellcat's jaw was sinking into his flesh, and if he didn't do something right now, it could result in the real loss of his limb. It could seriously kill him.

"I said… Get…off me!" He yelled, slamming his fist straight under Hellcat's jawline, mustering the absolute rest of her physical power she had left or one life saving strike. For a second, nothing seemed to happen.

And the next, Lionheart could feel blood dripping down his arm. He looked and saw a sharp rock in Hellcat's stomach, before vanishing, leaving a very deep wound.

Throbbing pains shot through his right arm though, making it painful to even send a signal down to his fingers. Blood ran all the way down it, to the point where there was barely even any skin visible. He was already starting to feel dizzy, unable to stand up straight for half of the time after the experience.

"You ass!" Hellcat spat, clutching her wound as tightly as she could. It wasn't fatal yet, but definitely needed to be treated.

"Me? You're the ones who started this…" Lionheart defended himself, although his words were slurred, and he wasn't anywhere near as loud or vocal as Hellcat was. He lacked the capability to use up so much energy in just conversing. "You speak like…I enjoy… hurting people…I hate it…We just…want Harrison back…"

A few deep breaths were taken by both sides, trying to come to grips with the pain they were under. Lionheart fell to his knees, and clutched his right shoulder blade as tightly as he could, unable to stand up on two legs anymore.

"You… You're weak." The witch mocked. Though she took a few deep breaths herself, she stood up tall, not showing any signs that she was weakening much more than this. "You're far weaker than I am…"

"What difference does that make?" Lionheart questioned through gritted teeth.

"So if I'm better than you, that makes me strong. I'm strong. Which means I survive! Survival of the fittest! If you're strong, you survive, aim higher, achieve more!" Lionheart growled,

"Pikko…can you help a little…?" Then there was a glow and his suit stitched back together and the pain was lessened. He smiled gratefully and got up again.

"Move out of my fucking way!"

Another left handed slug smacked Hellcat in his jaw, now coated and soaked in the mixed blood of her own, and of Lionheart's, each strike hitting like a truck to the witch. Each one of them was packed with so more force and precision she hadn't been able to make any meaningful counter attackers.

The back and forward slug-out between the two of them had gone on for at least several minutes at this point, and Lionheart was, despite his now barely-functioning right arm, putting up a very good fight. Strike after strike, kick after kick, and attack after attack was winning this brutal brawl with the witch. All he needed to do was keep up this pace, and he'd be the victor of the battle in little to no time at all.

While his opponent had started out with a huge advantage, now that she had been injured heavily, her ability to apply grave injuries was now limited. Now that Lionheart didn't have to worry about the jaws chomping down on his body, he was able to throw whatever moves or techniques he needed to, with a lack of worry for whatever openings he would give.

Of course, Hellcat had managed to get some good whacks in too. Lionheart was pretty sure the few she'd gotten to his face were going to show bruises for a while, but that didn't matter too much. They would heal. He had more pressing matters to worry about. To be honest, he barely even felt the pain anymore. His brain was releasing adrenaline and a painkiller effect, plus Pikko's magic, so he was numb to the physical ails of his condition.

Right now, all he was focused on was battering this bitch into oblivion.

"Damn it!" The kidnapper launched a reverse hook attack, aiming for the his jugular, now just throwing attacks around the place without any real precision or meaning towards her targets. She was just, in a word, flailing, hoping to hit with a random throw.

It made her predictable. And very weak.

With one swift leap, Lionheart found himself next to the Witch, with his arm around the general area that a neck would be located, and one foot behind Hellcat. With a heavy shove, Lionheart sent what energy he could transfer into his opponent, using his own foot as a way to trip the witch, sending her flying backwards into the ground.

"You're done!" He yelled, slamming Hellcat into the ground with a heavy throw. As much energy as he could muster went into pushing her into the ground.

The impact sent ripples throughout the ground, and caused both parties involved to cough up blood, the witch more than the superhero. While Lionheart was panting heavily, and felt his bones weaken, he claimed the victory in the matter, having completely clobbered the every loving crap out of the witch, who now laid unconscious by his feet.

For a moment, Lionheart stood still, atop Hellcat with a grin on his face, satisfied with his victory. While his body had taken a disturbing level of damage, he had won. His breathing was ragged and erratic, not remaining in a consistent pattern for too long. In addition to that, sweat ran down his body like he'd been into a pool and jumped right out. His mask had a few tears, as did the rest of his costume, but he was still standing as the outfit stitched over.

He was the winner.

And he couldn't stop himself from laughing a little bit.

He had won.

Morrigan flew down in bird form, "You okay?" Lionheart nodded,

"Yeah…I'm good…you have anything to tie her up?" Morrigan flew off and came back with some rope, which Lionheart used. He wanted to detransform and feed Pikko, but he knew that he would pass out the moment the transformation dropped.

"Okay, time to go save Harry…"

…

Tazri crept into the abandoned stone building, wielding her now-bloody sword. In her opinion, swords were more deadly than other weapons, and they were the most elegant weapon a person can use. She had managed to kill one of her brother's kidnappers, and was now looking for him. And if she found the mastermind behind Harry's kidnapping…

She found her little brother in a large cage with bars just close enough together for him to not fit through—and he was pretty small as it was. He didn't seem hurt, other than the chains on his wrists.

"Harrison!" She stage-whispered, and Harrison looked in her direction with wide eyes. She jumped down and ran over to him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, "But Kelly and Amelia! It's a trap!" Tazri nodded,

"I know." She gave him a reassuring smile, "Everything is going to be okay. Where is the key?"

"On Alpha." He said, "Taz, don't worry about me, get Kels and Mia away from here!"

"Not happening." She looked to her sword, before slicing off the lock, opening the cage and then trying to remove the chains. Who needs superheroes when you have protective big sister?

The chains were a little harder to break, but they came free eventually.

Then Tazri knew no more.

…

"Tazri!" Harrison then saw Blackout sitting on a ledge,

"I was told to guard you." She said simply, locking the cage again, this time with Tazri in it. Then she fell over and there was a gash where her eye should be.

White Sparrow landed and revealed her throwing knives. Harrison froze,

"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" White Sparrow shook her head,

"Harrison, relax, everything is gonna be okay." She looked to Blackout, then punched her into unconsciousness, "Where's Alpha?" Harrison pointed to the roof,

"She's been up there awhile. Maybe she's waiting for Lionheart." Sparrow shrugged, then put her hand on the cage and the chains, "Sonic Blast!" The cage and chains froze and shattered, and Tazri woke up a moment later. (Mila wasn't very good with her sleep powers, and only kept them out for about three minutes).

"Harrison!" Lionheart then ran in, looking like hell. Harrison ran over to his first real friend, taking in the pale skin and bruised, blood caked skin. He was worried about Sparrow, but Lionheart was in worse condition.

"What happened?!"

"Hellcat…" He blinked a few times, "I'm fine." It was not at all convincing.

"Finally." They all turned and saw Alpha standing on a ledge. She scoffed at the sight of her fallen fellow kidnapper. Then she leapt down, "Kelly, Amelia." Both heroes glared.

"What do you want with us?" Sparrow asked, "Our Miraculous? Hate to break it to ya, but you aren't getting them." Alpha shook her head,

"No, I was sent to kill you." Tazri grabbed her sword,

"Then come on down and fight us, or do I need to go up there and kill you myself?" Sparrow started making her move to fly up, when Alpha flicked her wrist and summoned a shadow copy of Sparrow and had the two battle. Then she summoned a glowing green ball of fire.

"Well, I'll start with the human." Then she threw the dark ball, now ray, at Harrison.

"HARRY!" Lionheart and Tazri shrieked, and Lionheart intercepted the blow to his friend.

It didn't take long for White Sparrow to defeat Dark Sparrow, and she saw what was happening. Lionheart didn't have much energy, and taking that blow was draining him more.

The ray had hit his Miraculous, and he was pushing the power into holding out. But then, to his horror and shock, the cuff on his wrist turned white hot before there was a massive shockwave as the Lion Miraculous exploded.

And then he felt cold, very cold, other than the worst burning feeling ever in his wrist where the cuff used to be.

For everyone else, they recovered from the shockwave, and the world practically went in slow motion as Kelly fell to his knees and then onto the floor, barely remaining awake.

Tazri took the opportunity to stab Alpha in the hip, and that made the witch retreat. Sparrow ran to Harrison, who was holding Kelly,

"What just happened?" He asked. Sparrow shook her head,

"I don't know. But I need to get him to a healer." She looked up, "Taz, get Mor and get Harrison back to the house. Kelly's in worse condition." Tazri nodded, and threw her brother over her shoulder.

Sparrow picked up Kelly bridal-style and took off, flying back to the manor,

"Hang on Kels, please…"

…

Mara watched Amelia leave and smiled, sending a message to her mother to let her know that Amelia was heading to the house and Kelly was dying.

Why did she feel guilty?

She shook herself, no, this was going to happen.

But why did she feel like a monster?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Losing everything**

Mercy was looking down at Kelly on the patient bed, having just looked him over and healed over his visible wounds. The burn scar hadn't healed though, having come from pure godlike magic.

"He's lost a lot of blood, which doesn't help his condition." Mercy sighed, "I am sad it's true." Amelia was shocked to see the anger and sorrow on her sister's face, then was confused when Mercy opened the door and Regina came in with Mara and Molly.

"Amelia." Regina said coldly, sounding devastated, yet Amelia knew well enough that it was crocodile tears, "Kelly…how could you do this to us?"

"Huh?" She was genuinely confused. But then the pieces clicked in piece. Those villains…were witches. She had been battling and killing her own sisters, "_You're_ the Mastermind?!" The one in charge of sending out those villains constantly. What kind of _Star Wars_ bullshit was this!?

Mara's expression changed for a moment, "You didn't know?"

"No! And…" she paused. Maybe she could get out of this, "Why are you doing this, Mother? You have power, and hundreds of children? Did you want that puzzle box from years ago?"

"No." Regina softened, also seeing an opportunity, "I am looking for a special stone. A friend of mine is locked up and that stone is the key to setting her free. Simple as that. You would do anything to save Kelly, wouldn't you?" Amelia hesitated, looking at Kelly's life draining.

"I-I'd do anything. I'd claw my way out of the hell if he needed help." She clenched her fist, "Who is this friend? Maybe I can help peacefully."

"Now we're getting somewhere." Regina's grin was feline, "Her name is Iku."

"Iku?!" There had been writings about Iku in the cave, "Like the _Death_ Enchantress?! I have read things that say 'DO NOT RELEASE IKU!' and I think I'm going to listen to that seeing as you have been terrorizing New York for years!" Here was the thing about Amelia—she would speak her mind, and didn't realize she should have lied here until it was too late.

Regina sighed, "I am disappointed you would say that." She looked to Mara with a smirk, "Kill them."

Amelia's eyes widened, grabbing Kelly and using her speed and flight to plow past them and out of the mansion. Meredith—no not Kelly's mother, this one was one of Amelia's sisters—stared at them blankly as she ran out of the mansion.

For once, she was happy to have to power of speed and flight, which had always seemed like an annoyingly passive power. But this made running away from a coven of angry witches much easier. She didn't know how many of them were actually mad. She and Kelly hadn't meant to betray the family, they hadn't known.

But that didn't matter right now. Harrison's mansion was huge and heavily guarded—and Harrison's room was a death trap for anyone who didn't know the eight-digit code. And he was enough of a scientist to have an idea how to help Kelly. Or his doctor could come over.

"Come on, Kels? Are we going to Harry's?" Kelly nodded a little, then shook his head,

"He got…kidnapped…because of us."

"You know he's not the type to ditch us because of that." Amelia assured, "And his mansion is probably the safest place in New York for us right now. Only thing we have to worry about is Taz—actually she's terrifying when she wants to be. Also, do you think Morrigan knows about what the others had planned and that's why she was so down?" She didn't want to believe her sister would betray her like that, but it would explain her behavior that had implied she was keeping something from them.

She then realized she was babbling. Kelly was likely too weak to contemplate that, but she was trying to keep him awake with her ramblings. He had his eyes open a little as she started talking about how Harrison was going to give them a little crap about listening to his theories about Lionheart and White Sparrow and not commenting on them or casually dropping hints about the real thing—though they had both been disturbed how accurate Harrison had been at times.

…

They had been running for a while at this point. Or rather, Amelia was carrying Kelly on her back, who was too weak to do much in the way of anything, even staying awake was remaining a struggle. His wrist burned, oh gods it burned. Yet somehow every other part of him was freezing, as though all his body heat had transferred to his wrist.

"Come on Kels…" Amelia begged as she slipped into an alleyway, "Stay with me. We'll be at Harry's soon. Jaay, Let's Fly!" Jaay emerged,

"Mia…I'm exhausted…" Jaay said, "I haven't eaten yet. Holding out long enough to get to the manor was a struggle."

"Damnit!" Amelia cursed, crying as she saw her surrogate brother get closer and closer to death. It had been her idea to get Mercy's help for him.

"Ame…" Kelly looked up through half-lidded eyes, "Leave me here. You can get away."

"No. Not a chance." She heard an odd noise, a couple female voices, and she paled, trying to hide as much as possible. Then she shrieked as she felt a hand on her shoulder,

"This way!" Amelia turned and saw Molara, Makane and Macy. Macy froze the path behind them, and helped support Kelly, "Come on, Harrison's house isn't far—that's the smartest location even if that wasn't already your destination—and I assume since he was kidnapped that he knows the family secret."

"You're helping us?" Amelia asked, and Makane nodded.

"Come on," she grabbed Kelly and carried his entire teenage body in her hands, "Morrigan is stalling as much as she can. I swear, we didn't know about the plan, just that you guys were Sparrow and Lionheart. We didn't think mother or Mara would do anything about it or I would would stopped it!" The large woman looked down at Kelly, "Kels, you gotta hang on for a little bit longer. And that burn is gonna be a nice scar. Just…" while they all knew Makane was a big teddy bear underneath it all, seeing her cry was something nobody expected, "don't die."

Kelly wanted to say he would try, but his entire body felt like he was freezing to the point his brain wouldn't let him move his body at all. Too hot to too cold with nothing in between. So he just did what he could to lean in for warmth, since that was the dominant other than his burning wrist.

It was maybe ten minutes before they realized Kelly would die without immediate help and decided the hospital was the best bet, and feed Jaay so White Sparrow could protect him. Besides, the hospital was public enough that the other witches wouldn't think they were stupid enough to go there.

"We should probably detour through that old warehouse." Molara said, "It's a less known route." She placed her hand on the ground and some plants assisted in making things more difficult for any attackers. Then she turned, "I think I just heard something, so I'll check. Might be nerves, but better to be safe than sorry." She walked slowly in the opposite direction, looking for the origin of the sound.

"Kelly?" Macy looked to him when they had entered the warehouse, which was only illuminated by a dim light hanging above, which didn't do much to light up the fair sized warehouse, "Are you still…"

"I'm alive…" it was barely a whisper, but it was there.

"Not for long." They turned and saw Morrigan emerge from the shadows as Molara came back with an eased expression, suggesting she hadn't found anything, "Lara, Macy, Makane, you need to go. Mara will be here any second!" Makane stood firm,

"Nope. I'm done taking orders from that little bitch just because she is mother's favorite. Kelly's our brother and I'm not gonna let him die!"

"Please," Morrigan begged, removing one of her gloves for the first time in years, "I have a plan. Just hide." Macy sent Makane a pleading look, and the elder of the present witches relented, giving Kelly back to Amelia, and hid in the shadows.

Not two minutes later, they heard a voice, "Morrigan," Amelia looked up and saw Mara standing above, "Turns out you are good for something." She jumped down and summoned a fireball, "And it looks like I just need to execute Amelia, and Kelly will just die on his own." She walked towards them menacingly, "You have no idea how many sisters liked you two. Mother even had to punish some for letting you get away. Such a shame you ended up being traitors." To the surprise of Amelia and the semiconscious Kelly, Morrigan stepped in front of them. It was heartwarming, it really was, they just didn't expect her to stand up to Mara. Yes, they were a team, but she was terrified of the powers that were the only thing that could assist.

Mara looked surprised, "Morrigan? Having a change of heart?" Morrigan lunged, tackling Mara to the ground and pinning the witch with her foot, the threat of her exposed hand which housed the power of instant death preventing a true fight.

"There, are you happy now?" Morrigan asked, "I will never betray them! They've been nicer to me than you or mother have ever been!"

Mara laughed, "Right back at ya."

"Huh?"

"Violence against mother's favorite and allowing the traitors to get away is prohibited." Mara explained with a furious expression, "This is a violation. Heed my call, O spear of Gungnir! Come to thine master's aid!"

Dozens of spears appeared out of nowhere and all stabbed Morrigan at the same time.

"MOR!" Amelia shrieked, and Kelly wanted to scream but just didn't have the energy. Morrigan's eyes went wide as she looked at the spears through her body,

"Huh? What…? That doesn't make sense… Why… me…?" Then she fell to the ground and moved no more.

That was the last thing Kelly saw before slipping from the realm of waking.

…

The real Morrigan watched from above on a ledge, sighing quietly. Jasmine Iwasaba had been willing to help her get away, as she and her family worshipped the Phantom Queen, so she was devastated her need of a cover led to the girl's death. At least it was quick.

They had done the switch with a spell that made Jasmine look and sound exactly like Morrigan herself. Only if someone got a good look at the body would they realize it wasn't really the witch. And as she watched the body burst into flames from the spears, she knew there was no way that was going to happen.

She turned when she saw Judge also looking below.

"Will Kelly be okay?" She asked, "I agreed to join the council to help control my powers _and_ keep Kelly and Amelia safe."

Judge dodged the question, "He should be. In time." He held out his hand, "Time to go. You even have Cradh excited—and that _never_ happens! Though he probably assumes you're older. And he'll be the one you want to go to for help on your powers." She sighed and took his hand,

"Time to go."

…

Amelia was frozen, seeing her twin there and gone in a moment. Then Kelly went slack in her arms, becoming nothing but dead weight.

Makane roared from the shadows and grabbed a discarded metal baseball bat and shattered Mara's skull with it, bending the metal bat with the force of the blow. Mara fell limp, and if she wasn't dead from that yet, they weren't entirely sure even Mercy's healing would do anything. Her head was cracked open with brain matter leaking everywhere. Amelia wasn't sure what was more nauseating, her sister's horribly mutilated body, or Mara's head split open—she definitely knew which one made her truly upset.

She didn't realize she had been screaming until she felt Macy's hand over her mouth. The ice witch was equally shocked. It had all happened in like ten seconds, and they had all genuinely thought Morrigan would win the fight. They didn't know Mara could use the Spears of Gungnir! If they had, they would have all gotten involved.

"Amelia, try to calm down for now." She said, "We can't risk the others finding us. I can already sense more magical signatures here." Amelia tried to walk, but her legs gave out under her and she found she couldn't move. She dully realized she had gone into shock. It had all happened so fast. Her whole life had fallen apart in the span of four hours. It wasn't even seven in the evening! Now she had lost her home, twin, Kelly was on the brink, Harrison was going to be in danger for even being her friend…

Makane, refusing to waste another second of Kelly's remaining time, threw Amelia over her shoulder and sprinted to the hospital. She didn't have super speed, but her powers were heavily involving combat and physical strength so she might as well have.

It must have been strange for the hospital to have a huge woman burst through the doors with a teenage girl in shock, and a teenage boy with a rather strange burn and dying.

"I don't care what you have to do." Makane snapped, "Help them." Her glare had the receptionist running to the back and coming back with more doctors and stretchers.

That was the last thing Amelia remembered before her mind couldn't take any more and she fainted.

OoOoO

Amelia woke up and found herself hooked up to machines, and Harrison was sitting by her bedside. It took her a few minutes to remember what had happened that landed her in the hospital, and took another few minutes to get her brain to string together a sentence.

"Kelly—" she then realized her voice was incredibly hoarse. Harrison gave her some water,

"Are you alright? You went into emotional shock."

She managed to sit up, "Huh?" Harrison then started explaining,

"After experiencing or witnessing a frightening or traumatic event, it is common for people to experience strong physical feelings and emotions and/or to find that they are behaving differently. This may happen straight away or for some people it may be several weeks or months later that reactions occur. These are normal and for the majority of people they start to fade and settle down within a few months."

"Okay." She looked around her hospital room, and noticed she was in a half-room, yet she was the only patient there, and Kelly was nowhere to be found, "Where's Kels?!"

"He's in the ICU." Harrison explained, and she could tell he was deeply upset regardless of the relatively calm demeanor he usually used. She had seen this tone many times, every time he had a distressing doctor's appointment about his condition, "I tried to visit him, but apparently there are two people seeing him right now."

That caught Amelia's attention, "Any idea _who_?!"

"No. But Makane is standing outside his door wielding a bent and bloody metal bat. I don't think _anyone_ is going to risk pissing off the 6'11 woman comprised of 500+ pounds of pure muscle." Amelia smiled, remembering Makane's growth spurt had caused her to tower over them even more,

"Probably it's just a couple of those girls in school with a crush on him. And I watched Makane crack open Mara's head, so…if that doesn't kill her, nothing will." Harrison nodded, and Amelia noticed he wasn't bringing up what he had learned either yesterday or early today,

"How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours. It's midnight now. Molara called me. Tazri didn't want me to come, but I'm not completely helpless. Managed to elbow your sister in the face and make a break for it. Didn't get far, but they have powers and I didn't have any of my inventions on me." She sighed,

"Are you upset about…"

"Not being told your identities?" He shrugged, "I was a little upset at first, but then I remembered that the less people knowing your identity, the better. I understand. And now I just hope Kelly pulls through."

An hour passed, and Amelia was discharged, and she went to check on Kelly, since those other guests had left a while ago.

But when they got to the ICU, they saw doctors running into Kelly's hospital room, and Makane was pounding on the closed door.

"What happened?!" Amelia asked, terror not bothering to conceal itself. Makane just shook her head.

It was five minutes before the doctor came out, shaking his head.

"I-I'm sorry." She said, "We lost him." Harrison wasn't frozen like Amelia was, so he grabbed her hand and ran into the hospital room, where there was a white sheet covering Kelly.

"N-No." Harrison shook his head, lowering the sheet so he could see his best friend's face. From his pained expression, he clearly didn't have a peaceful final moments. "This can't be real. Nope. I'm not believing it." He checked for a pulse, having convinced himself the doctors were wrong. Only to have his stomach drop when he found none.

Amelia was currently wondering how one night could ruin her whole life. She had already lost everything else except Harrison, and she'd hope maybe the universe would be kind to her and let Kelly live.

Makane was crying too, and Harrison was already talking to himself about various inventions that could get Kelly's heart beating again. Make him breathe. Make him survive until he was strong enough to live.

Amelia was falling deeper into despair by the second. Harrison hugged her,

"I need to stop at my house to grab my inventions. I'm rich enough to take the body now and use my airtight pod to preserve him."

"W-Why do you have an airtight pod?"

"I was trying to create clones—but that doesn't matter right now. Come on, stay with my family. Tazri might not be a huge fan, but I don't care and I have a mind-controlling shade of paint…don't ask." He looked to Kelly's body, "I'm not going to sit by and accept this."

She wanted to argue, not put him in danger. But she was emotionally drained right now, and it felt like nothing mattered anymore. She just leaned on him and let him guide her to his mansion, with the bodyguard taking Kelly's corpse.

When they got back to the mansion, Tazri ran to check on her brother, and froze as he ignored her and placed Kelly's body into an airtight pod. Then he turned to his parents,

"Mother, Father… Amelia and Kelly have nowhere else to go. Can they stay with us? Kelly's not doing so well, so I'm going to use my inventions to try helping him!" Tazri was about to object, but Mr. and Mrs. Sommers shrugged. Please note that since Harrison was dying, his parents rarely if ever said no to anything unless it could endanger him, and this had nothing to do with the mind-controlling shade of paint.

"Fine." Mr. Sommers said, "Until they are eighteen. I'll have someone get rooms prepared."

"Wha—" Tazri pursed her lips, having almost revealed the secret. She wasn't going to do that in front of her parents, so she dragged Amelia to a different room and held a sword to her throat,

"You're not staying here." She said, "Just being friends with you almost got my brother killed."

"I know." Amelia said blandly, taking a step closer to the sword until it was up against her neck and any movement other than moving the sword away would kill her, "In the span of less than a day, I have lost everything except Harry. Maybe I'll scream some more later, but for now I am _tired_. Kill me if you want, all you will succeed in doing in destroying your relationship with your brother. And I really don't have anywhere else to go, but I will leave as soon as I can."

Tazri looked at Amelia, who looked back at her. Brown and violet stared each other down. But it was two in the morning, the only reason the Sommers family had been allowed to visit the hospital after visiting hours was their status.

Harrison came over, "Tazri, I know you aren't a fan. But please deal with it. They're my only friends." he frowned, "I meant to ask before, but where's Morrigan?" Amelia hesitated, before simply shaking her head, which got the message to both sibling. Tazri was realizing that now was really not the best time to confront Amelia, and it explained her drained expression and behavior.

"Fine. But the second you get hurt again," she said this to Harrison, "I will tell Mother and Father about your kidnapping."

"NO!" Harrison pleaded, "It's a constant struggle to have them let me stay in public school—with them thinking it's a danger to my health—they'll lock me up again and cast my friends out!"

"I'm trying to protect _you_." Tazri said firmly. Harrison glared, taking Amelia's hand and walking away,

"I don't need to be protected. I didn't even want anyone coming for me! And _two_ of my best friends are dead because of it!" He stormed to his room, talking to Amelia now, "Come on, I'll get you in bed."

"I don't think I can sleep." Amelia muttered quietly as Harrison sat her on the bed.

"I know." Harrison replied, "I won't be able to either." Then his calm mask dropped, looking to the pod Kelly resided in, sitting beside her with tears already falling. "I'll fix this. I'll find a way."

"How?" She asked, "You can't reverse death." He ruffled her hair,

"Challenge accepted. Who knows, maybe Death will be on my side."

Little did Harrison know, the Council of Death actually was on his side.

OoOoO

Regina looked down at Mara's body. She wasn't dead yet, thanks to her witch resiliency, but close to it.

Mercy healed Mara, who woke up, and her eyes rested on Morrigan's burned up body. She froze,

"I-I…" she was taking deep breaths, "I didn't mean to." She didn't seem to register her mother staring at her. Regina glared, knowing full well Mara genuinely didn't mean to kill Morrigan. Didn't mean to kill a traitor, just a fit of rage that made her want to kill her sister, but never imagined she would actually do it.

"Really?" Regina mused to herself, kicking Mara down, "Feckless neophyte." Mara looked up, registering her mother for the first time,

"Mother…I…" She then screamed as she felt magic used against her that she couldn't fight.

Regina clenched her fist, and split her daughter's soul into two—one of light and one of dark. The dark left the body, and created an identical one, while the light remained in the original body. The light fell limp on the ground, while the dark grinned maliciously,

"I apologize for failing you." She said, "I can assure you it won't happen again. No matter how long it takes, I will kill Kelly and Amelia."

"Well Kelly is already dead." Regina replied, "A shame, but for now I want you to weed out the traitors among your sisters, and kill them. Amelia is residing in the Sommers Mansion. We know _where_ she is, but getting in there is a challenge, even for us, with the intelligence of the boy and the brawn of the girl."

"Very well, mother." Dark Mara said, "I'll do that now, and make it painful for a traitor." Then she vanished, and Regina threw the light half over her shoulder,

"I will be back after I drop this one off somewhere to die in peace. Mercy, make sure to tell your sisters of Morrigan and Kelly's deaths."

Mercy sucked in a breath, but saw what had happened to her mother's favorite, "Of course."

OoOoO

"Now Morrigan," Judge explained, "Make sure to not act your age. Be mature and polite."

"Of course." She bit her lip, looking in the mirror at the midnight blue eyeshadow being applied, "I feel awkward."

"Don't worry. Formality is only the first few meetings." He hesitated, "There is something you should know about the new council meeting—" The clock struck midnight, "Never-mind. Time to shine, Phantom Queen."

They entered the council room and Judge teleported to his seat above all the others, "Fellow members of the council, meet Morrigan. The Phantom Queen." Morrigan stepped out of the shadows, trying to ignore the knots in her stomach. There were some gasps, and then one particular member who looked the least human looked up at Judge,

"Another child on the council?" He asked, "You said we were getting a member who was the closest one will get to my equal. I sincerely doubt she can manage that."

"Yes, but she has time to learn." Another voice said, much softer, "I'm Freya. Welcome Morrigan, take your seat." Morrigan obeyed, maintaining her calm face. Inside, she was a little ball of insecurities and doubt, but she was told to remain mature and polite.

"Freya's right." Fawn agreed, "At least she won't be able to terrorize us by simply breathing."

"I'm only here to learn how to control my powers." Morrigan said, "I don't know what I'm doing. I was hoping to learn, and am open to any advice. I know I am young, and you are all much wiser than I am." There was silence, before another member burst out laughing,

"Us? Wise?" He continued laughing, "S-Sorry…I'm Micah…but seriously though. Cradh is the only wise one, and the rest of us are fricking idiots."

"She's already smarter than you." The inhuman one snapped, looking to Morrigan"I'm Cradh."

Another member looked up at Judge, "So is the meeting just about the new member? She seems nice enough." Judge hesitated,

"Something's gone wrong in the Book." At the upset from the other members, Morrigan had to ask,

"Book?"

"The Book of Prophecies." Freya explained, "It holds the destiny of this specific timeline. Something going wrong is a bad thing. You should read the book after the meeting."

"What's gone wrong." One member who was likely the Grim Reaper asked. Judge sent another look at Morrigan,

"Kelly Carpenter is dead." While the others all seemed to have a recollection of having heard the name, but Morrigan had to fight down rage. Judge had assured her than he would be safe in exchange for her joining the council.

Still, mature and polite. She could scream later. But she felt her powers letting loose, and she spent her energy trying to prevent that.

It didn't help though. The other council members, including Judge and excluding Cradh, started choking and fell out of their seats and were gasping and trying to get even a shred of air. Morrigan grew desperate to rein in her powers.

Cradh was the one to put an end to it. With a simple twitch, the council members could breathe and Morrigan felt her powers calm. He looked at her, and she expected him to kill her. But he didn't. His expression was completely blank, but she could see that he was watching her. Assessing.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly. The others looked completely terrified, "Nobody in my family knows how to handle my powers, I hoped a council of death would have an idea."

"I understand your powers." Cradh replied, "You do need to work on control."

Judge managed to stand up, "Morrigan, when something goes wrong in the book, we usually interfere. I'm sure Grim Reaper wouldn't mind letting you handle what to do with him. He has to live, at least before his birthday—your birthday—so things will go back on track. His body is currently not capable of holding active life, so you will have to get around that. You may ask for help from anyone." Morrigan stood up,

"Thank you, Judge. I'll get to it now." She walked out of the council room, trying not to run.

"His soul is residing in the back room to the left!" Freya called, and Morrigan—who had been going to the right—went in the correct direction.

"You really _did_ get another Cradh!" Grim Reaper shrieked at Judge, "WHY?!"

"Because that's how the Council used to be." Cradh replied, looking to where Morrigan has left, "She is younger than I would have liked, but she's open to help. She could be what this council needs to return to its former glory." Fawn's eyes widened,

"Cradh…are you smiling…!?" Cradh was smiling. Not something settling, but a smile nonetheless. Cradh then got up,

"I should return to my domain."

"Are you going to help her?" Freya asked, "None of us have any idea what her powers are."

"If she asks me in person for it." Then he was gone.

Empty got up, "Oh, and fuck you Micah for telling the new girl we are idiots. I won't deny it, but still not wise."

"Just proving my stupidity."

Freya sighed, "She seemed really upset. I wonder why."

"Kelly is like her brother." Judge explained, coming down, "That's why I assumed you wouldn't mind, Grim, letting her handle this. And it is a good way to testing her skills as it is and see what she needs help with."

"Sounds fine." Grim Reaper said, "Are we still doing brunch on Sunday? Think Morrigan will come?"

"I'll invite her." Freya said, "For now, farewell."

And so, the council members went off in different directions.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Friend or Foe?**

The first day back at school after a three-day break was tough for both Amelia and Harrison. They wanted to stay home and try to help Kelly, but they knew life went on, even if they desperately wished it wouldn't. But neither wanted to be separated.

Amelia entered her English class, not bothering to lower the hood of her jacket. Everybody knew Kelly and Morrigan were gone, even if they assumed Kelly was just comatose, and she could feel the pitying glances in her direction.

She looked to the two seats where Kelly and her twin were supposed to be, imagining them giggling in the back before class started, doodling or telling jokes, joined in by their groupmate, Dorian. Amelia wouldn't consider Dorian a close friend, but he was indeed a friend. Maybe she would have trusted him with the Lionheart and White Sparrow secret if it wouldn't get him killed.

Speaking of which, Dorian came skipping into class happily, and she knew he was blissfully unaware of what had happened. He'd been with his grandparents in Louisiana for the week.

At fifteen, Dorian was a perky kid with messy black-brown hair and remarkable silver eyes. He was attractive, but he never paid this any form of heed, wearing his usual dirty boots, faded navy jeans, and red-and-black flannel which seemed to be accidentally inside-out.

"Hey Ami!" he sat down at his desk, tossing his backpack next to his seat, "You okay?" He was just so cheerful, maybe he wouldn't ask too many questions.

Just her luck, he promptly noticed Kelly and Morrigan were gone, "Where are Kelly and Mor?"

Amelia hesitated, shaking her head a bit. But as goofy as Dorian could be, he was also perceptive, knowing when it wasn't time for jokes, noticing the pitying looks from everybody, "Did something happen? Are they sick?"

"If by sick, you mean taking a dirt nap," Another classmate, Maegan, snapped, "Then they are very sick." Dorian's eyes widened, turning back to Amelia,

"What happened...?" Amelia just shook her head, and Dorian was having none of it, "What the hell are you doing here?" When she still didn't respond, he grabbed her wrist, took her backpack, and dragged her out of class.

"We're gonna miss class..."

"You know there's a rule that if the teacher is gone during the period for longer than ten minutes, the class gets to leave." She nodded a little bit, not knowing where he was going with this. She then noticed he had the lesson plan in his hands, which their teacher refused to start class without, "She'll be digging in her car for hours. So Ms. Fraileigh and I are gonna play a game of hiding and seek."

They arrived at his apartment, and he sat her down, "No point in going to school if people are just gonna hassle you. You okay to tell me what happened?" Amelia nodded,

"My mother and sisters found out...Mor, Kels, and I have been keeping something from them. Mother tried to have us killed...Mor was struck down...Kelly's being kept in suspended animation in a coma. Harry's working to wake him up." Dorian stared at her with an appalled expression, which turned to anger as he clenched his fists, pouring her some lemonade and making a rather excellent breakfast, knowing full well she hadn't eaten.

"What the hell kind of psycho mother do you have? Kelly is the most popular guy in school, so you could probably just tell everyone what happened, and they'll go raise hell. Or use some of Harry's money and buy your mom a decent personality." That actually got a slight chuckle out of her, knowing he wasn't wrong, but then the mood darkened,

"It still won't change anything. Mor's still..." She saw Dorian was distraught at the idea of Morrigan being dead, and it was no secret at all that he'd been crushing hard on her, playfully saying he'd duel Kelly for her love. But she could also tell the jokester was partially in denial about it all, and he also grieved differently.

"Well...if you need somewhere to go, my parents don't particularly care, so you could stay." Amelia debated taking up that offer since Tazri hated her guts right now for being White Sparrow and having the nerve to live near Harry and endanger him more. But she didn't want to hurt Dorian either.

She looked to the food Dorian had made for her, noticing him go into a cabinet and grab a small bottle, taking whatever was in it. She decided not to ask and ate a little bit to be polite.

"I'm already staying with Harry since he's already in danger. I don't want you to get hurt, Dorian." Dorian turned, smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes,

"Has the funeral happened yet?" Amelia shook her head,

"Mor's body was destroyed and burned away...and with my mother, I doubt it will happen. Macy, Makane, and Molara can't risk themselves by talking to us. There's no point." She broke down, and Dorian hugged her tightly,

"Come on, I will fight your mother if I have to. You know I can fight." Amelia knew he could fight, but nobody had seen him in action other than one time they saw him punch a supervillain into unconsciousness for trying to steal his lunch money. When asked how he did it, it said he used his elastic limbs to stretch and sucker-punch the villain, saying this in such a manner that everyone passed it off as a joke. Amelia had always been curious how serious he was, being a discarded member of the Blackwell coven, but it wasn't like she was gonna ask.

"You're not actually gonna fight her. You'd never win." Dorian winked,

"That's where you're wrong, mon petite ami. I will fight and win with a stale baguette." Just the idea of Dorian fighting her mother and winning with a stale baguette was hilarious to think about, and something she'd pay good money to see.

If there was one thing Dorian was good at, it was creating distractions. When he was particularly bored, he could get their teachers to be completely unable to teach, instead of rambling on about random things. There had been times she and Lionheart debated throwing him at the villain so he could act as a distraction. But once they realized he could quickly become honest to god Joker if he wanted, they opted against it.

For the first time in days, Amelia was able to come out of her dark despair cave. Would she crawl back in it? Definitely, but she knew her sister and surrogate brother wouldn't want her to suffer. Besides, Kelly was gonna come back. He was...he had to be...

And then she was bawling in his arms, letting him stroke her hair. He had won the title fo everybody's friend, so cheering people up and being supportive was kind of his thing.

They turned when they heard a knock on the door. Amelia jolted in fear, terrified it was some assassin here to kill her and Dorian would be caught in the crossfire. He noticed this, and grabbed a knife from the kitchen, opening the door and seeing Harrison.

"Hey...Maegan told me you came here. I just wanted to check on you." Dorian smiled a bit, helping him in,

"It's cool, Harry. We're chill. Wanna join us? Or maybe get back to trying to wake Kelly?" Harrison was clearly surprised, and Amelia shrugged. He then chuckled a bit,

"Yeah. I should. But I need some pointers. I'd hate for things to go wrong." Dorian shrugged,

"No biggie, there's this magical thing called the internet! If you need to know how to resurrect someone from a coma, look there. I'll let you borrow my computer if you need it." Harrison smiled,

"No thanks, Dorian. But thank you for the offer." Dorian smiled as Amelia went with Harrison to head back to school, and neither of them noticed Dorian's expression become crazed and dark, using elastic limbs to reach well across the room and grab a knife from the kitchen counter.

"That bitch is going to pay." He muttered quietly, ready to don a mask of his own.

OoOoO

Kelly woke up, unsure of where he was. It seemed to be some rather lovely bedchambers, but he wasn't entirely sure since his whole body felt like it was on fire.

"Shhh..." he heard a soft female voice pull him out of the fire, and saw it was a pretty young woman with golden hair and ice-blue eyes, "Kelly, it's okay now."

He sat up, looking around, and then seeing a scar on his wrist. Pikko...

"Where am I? Who are you?" The woman softened,

"I have many names, so you can call me Death. You're in my bedchambers." Kelly blanched,

"I'm dead?!" Death nodded, then shrugged,

"You'll live. I can return you to life, but your body is not currently able to house your soul. So for the next three months or so, you are to act as my champion, and basically, do the stuff I don't want to do." Kelly blinked, alarmed by how chill Death was,

"So an internship in exchange for returning to my friends? You've got yourself a deal!" Death smiled softly, sitting down beside him,

"Oh Kelly, I am so glad to hear you say that."

OoOoO

"Okay! Attempt number eighteen!" Harrison announced in his lab, with Kelly's corpse resting on the lab table as he got blasted with some electricity this time.

Amelia watched on, looking to where the door was bolted shut, so they didn't need to see Tazri's disapproving stare. With every attempt, they were starting to lose hope, but Harrison was not the type to just give up.

He turned to her, "Mia, it's gonna work this time. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" Harrison shrugged,

"Gut feeling?" He activated the machine, and they both gasped as there was a flash of bright light as the electricity hit Kelly's body. This was the first attempt with electricity, so this wasn't expected.

But then...a miracle.

Kelly was breathing.

Harrison rushed over to the table, waiting a moment before touching the body, which now did show signs of life.

"It worked!" Amelia cheered, launching herself at Harrison and hugging him tightly as they both laughed in glee at their success. Kelly was alive.

By the end of the day, he was stable and confirmed to wake in his own time.

"We need to keep him somewhere mother won't find him." Amelia muttered, then perking up, "Harry, can you transport your machines into the woods?"

"Yes...why?"

"Because I have an idea. Jaay, let's fly!" She transformed and helped speedily pack up some equipment and grabbed Kelly. Harrison put on his rocket boots and followed her as they landed in the place Kelly and Amelia had found their Miraculouses. The cave opened for her, and Harrison looked around in awe.

"Woah! Look at the history in this place! The carvings and..." he gasped, beyond exciting in things Amelia had long since passed off as usual. Though he was still new to the concept of real magic, so this was expected.

Setting Kelly down in the back room with the chairs, she wrapped him in blankets and gave him pillows as Harrison hooked him up to the machines for nutrients and such.

"We'll have to stay the night with him here." Harrison pointed out, "He might be safe here, but I don't know if the machines will hold out overnight." Amelia grinned, looking to the other two chairs,

"I hope you're a chair sleeper."

Harrison grinned, and the two were finally feeling hope after days of despair.

**A/N: So Amelia, Mor, Kelly and Harrison know Dorian. Because naturally everybody knows everybody, even if it was going to high school together 30+ years ago.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: A new path**

In the afterlife building, Kelly was trying his best to be a good intern. Since those were required for college, he saw this as his chance to practice. Though, he supposed, being an intern for the seven guardians of the afterlife was a little different. But he still brought coffee to the Fae Queen, Freya. She was nice.

He turned when he saw a young reaper dragging a dolly with a bunch of sleeping souls on it. She was shaking both with terror and exertion. He walked over and helped her with moving the souls.

"T-Thanks..." the reaper said, "I'm Talia."

"Kelly." He said with a cheerful smile, "Who are these for?"

"Cradh." Talia muttered, "But nobody likes going down there. It's scary." Kelly looked to the souls,

"Well, I suppose I could help." He chirped, "I'm the intern around here, and I want to help as much as possible." Talia brightened, handing him a glowing pendant,

"This will make sure the demons know you're just the delivery boy and to not go near you. If you're lucky, one of the wardens will act as a guide." Kelly put the pendant on and took the dolly, and Talia said, "I'll always be in your debt for this."

"It's no biggie." Kelly started walking in the direction of Cradh's domain, humming quietly, until he came upon the door. He noticed a distinct lack of reapers around here, and the corridor was dusty as though nobody dares go even close to there.

Opening the door, Kelly saw there was a crude set of stairs with a low ceiling. He couldn't see the bottom.

"Okay..." he shut the door behind him as he got walking, the dolly thumping behind him, and almost running him over since it had wheels, and he did not. He would typically ride the dolly down, but he didn't know what was at the bottom and would rather not land in something unpleasant.

"Okay, Kelly," he said quietly to himself, knots forming in his stomach the lower he went until there was actual pain, "This is fine. Just nerves. You had those when meeting the other members too. It's been nearly three months, it's about time you meet Cradh. Just be respectful."

After about fifteen minutes of walking down, he noticed a bright light, and once he reached it, he fought back the urge to vomit, grateful he had been raised by witches, which made him have an iron stomach.

He gazed upon a lake of boiling magma comparable to Lake Michigan along with an intricate web of scaffolding. The other side of the cavern was tiered with hundreds of levels. The walls and scaffolding were lit by torches, giving the whole place a dim orange lighting.

He gulped audibly and got to moving the dolly, walking past various demons. They all noticed the human boy in their realm, but also saw the glowing pendant that let them know this was just a delivery boy and not a soul to be tortured. He also noticed some demons crawling either into or out of the magma pit. He didn't know how many demons were here, but it likely was well into the thousands.

He didn't know how long he was walking up the various tiers, almost plummeting into the magma a couple times due to the lack of guard rails, listening to the moans and screams of the damned. He even saw some of the souls and wanted to scream, vomit, or downright run. But no, he was dedicated to getting this job done. But he did understand why Talia hadn't wanted to come here. Besides, he had been walking for a least a couple hours, so he might as well keep walking, knowing that the wooden scaffolding below his feet could break at any time with the weight of the dolly.

He was immensely relieved for workout fatigue to not really be a thing while just a soul, otherwise he would have passed out from the uphill adventure. Could he get buff in the afterlife? This was one hell of a workout. While he had some muscle, he was still considered scrawny.

As he moved up, he heard less screaming and moaning and began to see more natural light from more than just the pendant around his neck. The top five tiers, from what he could tell since he was on the fifth now, had metal catwalks instead of the significantly less stable wooden scaffolding and was all open-air, meaning that they all share a light source.

He turned when he saw a weird-looking being, something he'd never seen before. The creature was wingless and headless with a single eye in the center of its chest. There was an array of small spines on its shoulders that lay flat like hair.

"Um...hello." Kelly waved at it, and the creature just stared at him, gesturing for him to follow. "Are you taking me to Cradh?" No response, but seeing as they were headed up, and the creature was helping him with the dolly, he saw no reason to doubt or complain.

Looking around, life on the top five tiers was much like a tropical paradise, with homes scattered about and people.

The final tier was a throne room. Kelly looked at Cradh, who was shockingly the same height as him if not a little shorter. But he still knew from what he had seen below that there was a reason the council feared him.

"A human?" Cradh asked, both parts impressed and confused, "What are you doing here?" he noticed the pendant around Kelly's neck and frowned, "Isn't delivering souls a reaper's job?" Kelly nodded,

"I'm the intern around here. I wanted to help, sir." Cradh looked to the souls on the dolly, and Kelly bowed, feeling that was appropriate, being in a throne room and all. He turned to the creature that acted as his guide for the last couple tiers,

"Thank you for being my guide." He said, proceeding to speedwalk down the lower levels. It still took at least five hours to get back to his temporary room, where he flopped onto the bed, completely exhausted. He looked at the clock and knew it had been thirteen hours. He has a suspicion most of those hours had been him trying not to fall to his doom into the magma or to drag the dolly up tons of stairs.

Yeah, he had no plans of _ever_ doing that again. He felt awful for the reapers who needed to do that daily.

He sighed when he remembered he needed to turn on the lights since there were no windows in the council building. All 'natural' sun and moonlight was still artificial.

He was tired, yes, but he also knew he wasn't going to be sleeping for a good long while. Besides, working distracted him from the pangs of homesickness. He missed Harrison and Amelia and Morrigan. He'd been trying to find Mor here, but his Death—and it confused him to no end that all the others had names, but she didn't—was the only one who would know, and wouldn't tell. After a while, she revealed the Spears of Gungnir took a toll on the soul, so Morrigan was in the ICU of sorts and needed to be alone. Okay, understandable.

Changing out of his dirty sweat-soaked clothing, he wore his typical baggy grey shirt and jeans, wandering around some more. Micah had said he had free reign over the place as long as he obeyed the rules and didn't unleash anything.

He noticed Death drinking some wine in the council room, looking extremely stressed.

"Hey." Death looked up, blinking a couple times,

"Oh, hey, Kelly. How're you doing?" Kelly shrugged,

"I mean, I went into Cradh's domain dragging a dolly full of sleeping souls, so I'm a little...dead inside...and won't be sleeping for a few days. How about you?" Death blinked a few times, before smiling,

"Better now. Just being a death entity, assigning people to be tortured...it's hard. I'm kinda new at this, I don't have any idea what I'm doing. I've debated going to Cradh for help, but the others avoid him like the plague, so I'm not sure what to think."

"Well, he seemed kind enough when I, a human, met him. And that torture realm probably isn't too bad for someone who can fly. Just don't take a dolly of dead bodies on unstable scaffolding with no guard rails over magma. I'm not sure if it's to prevent escape or be a huge middle finger to the reapers." Death chuckled a little bit, holding his hand, and he noticed she was wearing gloves.

"You have a point." She smiled, and for a split second, he swore he saw Morrigan in her, but it was gone just as fast as he'd seen it, "Come on Kelly...or I guess you tend to go by Kels...it's time for you to go home."

"Home? I thought it would take longer."

"Yes, but I've realized that you've fallen into that habit of yours, wanting to fix everybody's problems and ignoring your own. And I think I know someone who might be able to help us. Come on." She was still holding his hand, and Kelly's teenage brain was scrambled since it wasn't every day an amazingly pretty woman that wasn't related to him was holding his hand.

They were walking until they came upon a mountain housing gates made of bone, and down they walked, into the endless darkness and upon a door with beautiful carvings. But Kelly knew that these carvings had been made by the prisoners and slaves. He didn't know what kind of people were locked up here, but he still felt a sense of wrong looking at it, no matter how visually appealing.

Death hesitated as she opened the door, and Kelly gasped at how he saw his mother staring at him.

Meredith Carpenter, his birth mother, was a tan-skinned young woman with dark pink lips, grey eyes, and black bob-cut layered hair with gray highlights. His father hadn't had his blue eyes either. It had been said his ancestors had had his eyes, but most thought it was a freak genetic mutation.

_"Not now, Karlos, Mama's in a hurry!"_

_"My name is Kelly..."_

_"Whatever." She looked upon the bruised four-year-old boy, grabbing him by the hair until he whimpered in pain, "Now, Kole, you're gonna go run into the woods, and I don't want you to come back for a long time. Father and I are gonna have our good friend over, and he isn't fond of little ones like you." Kelly yelped as he heard someone knocking on the front door and cried as he got shoved out the back door. The door slammed shut behind him._

"M-Mother?" He backed up a little bit. He had avoided going into Grim Reaper's territory unless needed, for fear of running into his parents. But here his mother was. She smiled fondly at him,

"Close. I am the Oracle, and I take the form of what you fear." She gestured to Death, "I'm pretty sure she sees her own mother too." Kelly turned to where Death also looked somewhat afraid but mostly mad, "You're here because I'm not one to follow the rules, and know-how to return a person to their body even against all the odds that should stop you."

"Yes." Death muttered, and the Oracle smiled as she continued, "What are you, exactly? You're not a demon. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. But I have no idea what you could be."

"I am something you cannot possibly comprehend. There is only one like me, but _he_ is so much more. Blood ties are damned, he is family to me, even if he doesn't know how much I care. And it is because of him that I would deem to help you. But tell me, a question for a question...Kelly, how far would you go to protect your family? I don't want you to answer, but I want you to always remember that question. Once you _truly_ know the answer, come find me." She turned to Death, "Take care of Cosmo for me, the poor boy desperately needs love in his life to quell his burning hatred before it gets him killed."

"Of course. I'll take care of Cosmo, and make sure he finds friends." The Oracle nodded, looking at Kelly,

"It's not often I find a pure soul. Just remember, Kelly, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions." She tapped his forehead, and he was flung out of that prison and back into his own body.

He woke up in a chair in his and Amelia's little superhero hideout. He immediately gasped at the pain through his body and noticed he was hooked up to an IV.

"Huh?" He was shaken by a wracking cough through his body and managed to stumble to his feet, immediately falling to his knees. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to return to his body early...he coughed again.

He then noticed a note with a remote that had been on the arm of the chair,

_Kels,_

_If you wake up and we aren't there, press this button. Mia and I will be there ASAP._

_\- Harry_

He smiled, "Thanks, Harry." He pressed the button.

OoOoO

Being a superhero wasn't the same without Kelly. White Sparrow knew this because it was a constant ache in her heart as three months had passed.

Next week was their sixteenth birthday. The loss of her sister was painful enough, but she wasn't sure if she could bear it, because this would be the first time she had a birthday to herself. If she were an average child, that would be good. But she had watched both her twin and her best friend die right in front of her. So no, having a birthday to herself was weird.

She turned to her partner. Yes, she had a partner. People said she had replaced Lionheart upon his passing, which they all knew about. And she let them, because there was footage of the explosion, just that nobody knew Kelly had been the one behind the mask. And with Pikko dead, there was no way he could even be Lionheart again.

But a couple days after she and Harrison hid Kelly, a superhero named Misfit. His outfit was all jet-back with dark blue stripes on the sides, and his mask was that same dark blue. His superpower was elastic limbs, and the stretching seemed to have no limit, as he was legit able to choke a villain with his damn neck. Harrison wanted to test the limits of that power, but it seemed as though Misfit had no bones at all, and his superpower was the only thing making him look normal, which explained how he had such insane agility. He also had this wicked-looking scythe that could cut anything and get less resistance than wet tissue paper.

At first, the mention of elastic limbs had made her wonder if this was Dorian, but Misfit was significantly grimmer than Dorian. But Dorian had also matured in the last couple of months, so it was possible. Maegan had started to flirt with him, and he didn't reject her, so she wondered if maybe he was moving on from his crush on Morrigan, or perhaps he was just too preoccupied with his own thoughts to care.

Harrison was also not doing well. He had caught pneumonia going around, and had been in the hospital for a couple weeks, and was now on bed rest because he couldn't breathe half the time. His parents were debating pulling him out of school because of it, and it was causing Harrison to become even more depressed than he usually did with the knowledge he would die young hanging over his head. And it hung over Amelia's head too, terrified she would lose him.

Misfit stared at her blankly, smiling a bit, "Birdie, you should go rest for a bit. I can handle patrol. You look exhausted." White Sparrow smiled a little bit,

"Thanks. Hey...I need to ask. Are you Dorian Nanami?" Misfit hesitated, before sighing,

"What gave it away?"

"Your eyes." Those silver eyes were also scarce, so of course that was a defining trait of Dorian, "But it's been bothering me, so I had to ask. Night, Dorian."

"Night, Ami." Sparrow didn't hear him, running back to the mansion, and seeing Harrison was using his breathing treatment, looking excited,

"Kelly's awake!" He gestured to the remote, "He's up!" Sparrow brightened, immediately sprinting to the cave, seeing Kelly curled up on the ground, coughing lightly.

"Kels!" She held him in her arms, and he smiled at her,

"Hey, Mia. I think I might need a little help." White Sparrow nodded, carrying him back to the mansion, getting him settled in a guest room. Within a couple moments of stretching his muscles, he was strong enough to walk to Harrison's bedroom, where he gasped at the sight of his ailing friend.

Harrison smiled but didn't try to hug him, "I'm sick." He rasped, "I'd hug, but even though I'm not contagious, I'd rather not risk it." Kelly still grinned, but then noticed the doubtful expression of Tazri. Probably doubting it was really him, Amelia supposed. But the last couple of months had also shown Tazri that Harrison was going to be in danger no matter what. If he really was doomed to die young anyway, there was no point in making his life a misery. But the next step now that Kelly was back was to go back to finding a cure.

Kelly brightened, coughing a bit, "I'll go get soup!"

"Kels! It's late, and you don't..." Kelly shrugged, pursing his lips,

"It's barely sunset. I'll be okay. Beside the grocery shop is only a ten-minute walk." He grabbed Harrison's wallet, and Amelia was worried at how fast he was trying to adjust to being alive and awake again.

"Kels, you should rest. You're tired."

"I'm fine." Kelly assured, "I just need to stretch my legs, and I'll be fine. Believe it or now, I've been very active these last few months." He then walked out of the mansion, and everyone was worried about him. Amelia transformed and called Dorian, telling him Kelly was awake and to look over him. She then changed back and helped Harrison with his vest.

...

Kelly did his best to not overthink the whole formerly being dead issue. His situation didn't matter right now. Maybe it really was a problem, that he felt like crap and wasn't acknowledge it, but Harrison was the one with the more significant predicament.

The sun was only just starting to go down, and that was good. He could make it to the store for some soup before the sun went down. He was no fool and knew night time was when the crime was more common, and he wasn't a superhero anymore; the burn scar on his wrist was eternal proof of that. But he didn't care. If it was light enough for children to play in the park, he could be out grabbing soup for his sick friend.

He froze when he heard a child crying under a tree. She was a little girl, probably Italian by the looks of it, dressed in a primrose pinafore dress and soft children's shoes. Her dark hair was in pigtails. Nobody seemed to be nearby planning to help her, so he approached her.

"Hey, I'm Kelly. Are you okay?" The little girl looked up with wide brown eyes. Her lip quivered,

"I'm Zoe Perez." She said, and she couldn't be older than five, "I lost my Mommy." Kelly's heart immediately went out to the little girl, knowing how that felt all too well. He took her hand, helping her up,

"Well, New York isn't all that safe." He picked her up, "How about we look for your Mommy together." He winced as he started getting a headache from the noise around, but ignored it in favor of helping this child. Zoe brightened, clapping her hands,

"Okay! Thank you, Mr. Kelly!"

"Just Kelly. I'm barely older than you." He tickled her stomach, and she giggled, wiping away her tears. He hoisted her onto his shoulders, "Let me know when you spot her." Even with how light she was, he found himself feeling weak, but he ignored it.

"There's Mommy!" She said after a minute, and Kelly followed where she was pointing and saw a woman who looked very much like the child. He got her off his shoulders and had her guide him to her mother, "Mommy!" Zoe's mother brightened and hugged her daughter.

Kelly winced as his headache started getting worse. But he still managed to smile, going to leave, when suddenly he heard the child start gasping for air, unable to breathe. Her mother shrieked, trying to get her child to breathe. Kelly then screamed as he found himself in the minds of everyone around them, and he saw that he had made the little girl forget how to breathe.

_HOW?! _He screamed at himself, _How is this possible?! I don't have powers! I never have!_ He immediately called the hospital and tried to help the poor girl, who was going blue in the face. He tried everything, including CPR, but Zoe was dead before the paramedics arrived.

The mother still went into the ambulance with her dead child, leaving Kelly alone on his knees in the middle of the park. It had all happened so fast, he could barely process it.

He didn't know when he had started running, seeing into the minds of everyone around him and making his headache turn into a migraine, the soup was long since forgotten, but he bolted into the mansion and into Amelia's arms,

"What's happening to me?" He gasped out, before passing out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Newcomers**

Kelly wouldn't get out of bed for a week. Couldn't really, because his head hurt. The guiltier he became, the more pain he put himself through due to a headache becoming a migraine. Tazri said he needed help since this was basically self-harm, but he didn't care. He had murdered an innocent child. Tomorrow was his and Amelia's sixteenth birthday, and that just made him feel worse, knowing he was still here, and Morrigan wasn't. Why couldn't it have been the other way around?

Harrison had hooked him up to some machines to see exactly what was going on, and it seemed he could use 100% of his brain capacity, something the average human could not do. If they practiced in a controlled environment, he could get good at this. For now, Harry was working on a suit to control the power for him. However, the project wasn't done, especially since he didn't know details about the superpower he was working with.

Amelia was sitting bedside with him, trying to calm him out of this state, but he wanted her to leave but was too weak to tell her. He hadn't eaten all week either. Kelly just wanted to curl into a ball and die. Maybe he belonged in that torture realm. It would have been better if he had fallen into the magma.

Tazri seemed to think he was a zombie for a while, but seeing he was so guilty over an accident managed to convince her he was not out for blood.

"Come on, Kels..." Amelia tried to help him out of bed, and he just curled back into a ball, trying to hide under the blankets, "It was an accident. Not even. Your powers just flipped out, and you were in no way to blame."

"This power is evil. I don't want it." He buried his face in a pillow, "I'm useless! I should have just stayed dead!"

"Okay. You're never like this. I get that you're guilty, but this is just..." Amelia shuddered, and Kelly gave her a ghost of a smile, but they both knew it was fake as hell. She ruffled his hair and put the amulet around his neck, "Come on, let's go run, for old times sake." Sadly, Kelly started bawling again,

"But I let Pikko die!" He wailed, and Amelia wrapped him in a blanket, sighing,

"Kels, you gotta work with me here. What do you need me to do?" Kelly shrieked as he found himself in her head,

_"What do I do? I've never seen him like this! Food makes things better, but he needs to know this isn't his fault. None of this was his fault. Come on, Kels...don't leave me now."_

He continued to shriek until Harrison ran in, "Dorian's in danger!" He showed them the news on his television, about a battle going on between two superhumans, one of which they could tell was Dorian since he was wielding the same scythe. And his opponent was...

"Mother?!" Amelia shrieked, grabbing Kelly's shoulders and shaking him, "Calm the hell down, we have places to be and a friend to save!" Kelly was just continuing to cry. Tazri came in and sighed,

"Apparently, these powers make him more emotionally intuned according to some research I did. So him being a wreck is partially to blame on that. But getting him back on the field is a good start towards recovery. Harrison, you aren't going." But Harrison was already putting on a suit to protect him and tossed one to Kelly.

"I'm going! No way I'm missing this!" He was clearly really excited, but Kelly sighed,

"Harry, I don't want you to be in danger."

"I'm in danger just by having the Sommers surname and having you two as my best friends. It's too late to drag me out of it, so I'm gonna have some fun, damnit!" Amelia sighed, transforming and grabbing both her friends and running into the woods. She sat Harrison on a tree, knowing he had rocket boots on,

"Stay here. You can watch, but I don't want you exhausting yourself." Harrison pouted but didn't fight her. Kelly was clinging to the tree, and Sparrow huffed, "You okay?" He nodded a little bit, wiping tears.

"Don't want Regina seeing me like this."

"Well...maybe your loose-cannon-ness will be helpful here?" They heard loud swearing on Regina's part, and White Sparrow refused to admit it was music to her ears. She sent Kelly a supportive look, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. But no more wallowing in bed." Kelly huffed,

"Fine. I'll wallow on the floor." Sparrow facepalmed, helping him out of the tree. She handed him a mask, but he pushed it away, "She already knows who I am. It's funny, really, the first thing she asked me was if I had magic. I wonder what would have happened if I had had this power then."

"I wonder..." she mused, and they ran into the clearing, and were shocked to see Dorian, wearing the suit but not the mask, probably because it's designed to handle the stretching, had taken down five of her sisters, leaving them alive yet injured. He didn't want to kill them, but he did want to _destroy_ Regina, using his stretching to weave between the trees and use his elasticity to his advantage, snapping back and cutting her leg deep enough to scar. Sparrow had to admit he was doing a damn good job on his own and wondered if she should even get involved.

But then she watched in shock as the wound healed from her mother's leg, and she attacked him with intent to pin him. But Dorian just whirled around her, grabbing her by the collar and throwing her into a tree.

Regina growled before a devious grin spread on her face, "Such a talented boy," she mused, "You would be something extraordinary if your eyes were opened." She then noticed Sparrow and Kelly, the latter of which was backing up slowly.

"What a twist of fate this is," Regina pondered, "Looks like you're back at square one, Kelly Darling." She dodged as he launched an arrow, barely missing her. His expression was still somber, but he was making it clear he had no plans of backing down.

Sparrow knew he was just bottling up his feelings, the same as her, but right now, that was understandable. Tomorrow was their birthday, and this was the first time they had confronted Regina since their identities were revealed to the family, and action was taken.

"Shut up!" Kelly charged at her, managing to hold his own with tricks Makane had taught him. Speaking of which, White Sparrow wondered as she assisted her two friends where her innocent sisters were and if they were still alive.

Regina then let out a burst of energy from her body, much more powerful than Amelia had suspected. She knew her mother's power was manipulation—how else would she have nearly three hundred daughters, and only three tops at a time have the same father, Morrigan was her only 100% sister, the rest were half-sisters—so she hadn't expected any offensive powers. Well, she was wrong. Luckily, having fought her sisters and other villains, she knew this would be a walk in the park. After all, Dorian had very little practice and was absolutely dominating.

But her mother was not ready to surrender. She tossed Kelly to the side, knocking him into a tree, stunning him, but not rendering him unconscious. Sparrow flew at Regina and pinned her on the ground, shocked when her mother made herself intangible, phasing through her daughter momentarily and now being the one pinning.

"Let her go!" Dorian roared, going to attack with the scythe, but Regina grinned,

"I have her pinned at just the right angle that she can't move. After all, I'm her mother, so I know all her weaknesses. And your little weapon, while I applaud the way it was designed, will kill her if you attack me." What she did not expect, however, was for Harrison to run out of nowhere and tackle her off White Sparrow.

"You're not hurting my friends again, bitch!" He pulled out some sort of gun, pinning it to the back of her head, "If you move, I will kill you. I think the fate of the last villain you sent to kidnap me proves my weapons don't fuck around."

"Why should you worry me?" Regina asked, sending out another blast of pure energy that made him back up, "You are just a child, and I give it ten years before you die a slow, torturous death from your pathetic mortal disease. For as smart as you are, nobody will remember you as anything more than the weakling son of a wealthy family." She then gasped as she felt Kelly stab her with a makeshift stake from the ashwood tree he'd been knocked against. She gasped in pain, doubling over as the ashwood poisoning burned through her powers.

Since none of them knew she was secretly Fae, they had no idea why he was behaving this way, but they saw the moment she snapped, deciding that she was going to leave a mark on these kids.

Letting her elongated canines show, she became nearly feral, like a wounded animal. She was a blur faster than even Amelia and pinned Dorian to a tree, ripping the suit with her nails and pressing directly above Dorian's heart, all of this before even his phenomenal reaction time could process it. The ashwood hadn't hit anywhere vital, so she had time for a rush of adrenaline to destroy these kids, make sure to use her fleeting powers in revenge.

Dorian let out a howl of pain, and Sparrow rushed to help him, only for a blur to shove Regina off Dorian and another to pull Dorian away. Whatever magic was being done stopped working, leaving the spell ineffective. Regina writhed on the ground for a moment, and White Sparrow saw the two rescuers.

From the looks of it, they were probably two sisters. One, just by looking at her, was clearly a pyromancer if her flaming hair said anything. She was wearing aviation goggles and metal armor that didn't conceal the fact she was quite fit, seeming to be in her mid-to-late twenties.

The other girl was probably fifteen or sixteen, no older than any of the other heroes here. She was a slender yet curvy teen with shaggy brown hair with grey strands, and a silver eye, while the other was covered by a black eyepatch. She wore a blue-grey tunic, brown pants, and a long black trench coat.

"Get out of here!" The younger one said to Dorian, who nodded, and they all watched his suit start stitching back together as he got up, stretching his arms to pull him up onto a high branch and running, turning his scythe back into a pen and pocketing it as he went.

"Who are you?" Kelly asked, and White Sparrow could tell he felt some sort of connection to the younger of the two women. She smiled a little bit, brushing back a strand of brown hair, turning to her other,

"Nobody for you to worry about. Shall we go?" The older woman nodded, and they vanished...

Only to appear again like twenty seconds later, while Sparrow was about to slap Regina in cuffs to get her arrested for murder. Her sisters were still down for the count, at Mercy had arrived to start healing them.

The older of the two picked Regina up by the collar, her other hand flaming, "We've changed our minds. not corrupt the damn bastard already." Harrison growled, firing a blast at the older woman, and since it was a laser and, therefore, faster than light, his terrible aim was the only thing stopping him from killing her outright with a headshot.

"What the hell?!" White Sparrow went at the younger one, seeing as the elder had tossed Regina to the ground, realizing that she was too severely injured to perform the spell. So she let Mercy start the healing process and burst into flames, chasing after Dorian. Sparrow noted she had a slight limp, which made running less effective. For Dorian's sake, that was probably a good thing.

Kelly was already running after the flaming woman, and Harrison was observing the discarded Ashwood stake, going to stab Regina again. Sparrow narrowed her eyes, "Harry..." she said warningly, "No."

"But I need to see why she healed from a phenomenally built scythe and not a piece of wood!" Harrison complained, "She's an evil witch who had her own daughter killed!"

"Harry, no. Not only is she still my mother, but she's also probably pregnant since she needs to replace myself and Morrigan." She said this bitterly and was not surprised at all to see Mercy nod a little bit. The younger girl was examining Regina, and Harry pointed the laser gun at her, only for Sparrow to swat it away again, "Harry, no."

The girl looked up, before turning to where her supposed sister had run off, hearing two screams, before a third joined the chorus.

"Are they stable?" Sparrow asked Mercy, the one sister she knew was on no particular side, much preferring to just be a healer. Mercy nodded, but was about to speak, and got dragged along with Harry to the site of the screaming. The girl was following after them.

In a clearing not far from the cave, White Sparrow found Kelly was on the ground shrieking in horror. Dorian was on the ground, whimpering quietly. His back...she wanted to vomit...the suit had been burned away, and already it was stitching itself back together, which probably made the pain even worse.

Where there should be smooth skin was charred muscle and blood, so much blood. Dorian lay still, his face so pale as to make oozing blood even more apparent. Judging by how the burns hadn't touched his head, he had probably stretched to try dodging, but his back and a good portion of his right side took the brunt of the damage.

The older woman was out cold, her hair no longer aflame, revealing it to be a reddish-orange. The girl ran over to her,

"Chandra!" She shook the woman, "Wake up!" Noticing the young one was distressed, Kelly's crying got louder,

"I'm sorry!" he wailed, "I didn't mean to! S-She hurt Dorian, and I_—_I..." his lip quivered, and the girl looked to him with empathy.

"It's okay...don't cry."

"Who are you?" Sparrow asked, detransforming to let Jaay rest, since there was really no point in hiding her identity at this point since everybody here knew it, and there was no fight. She handed her kwami a marshmallow, and he was satisfied to eat on her shoulder.

"I...I'm Adelina. This is my friend, Chandra." They both looked to where Mercy was healing Dorian's burns, slowly but surely. The poor boy had passed out from the pain. Harrison had removed the suit, which prevented anything from touching Dorian's back, and examined it,

"It regenerates on its own! Brilliant!" Harrison was clearly having the time of his life. He had no idea what to do about Kelly, nobody did, and any attempt at comforting him made it worse. So he let himself be happy while Amelia talking to Adelina, who was trying to comfort Kelly and failing, continuing to look at the unconscious Chandra.

"Okay, how long have you had your powers?" Adelina asked softly, watching him. Amelia hadn't noticed until this moment that Kelly's eyes were changing color. They'd been dark blue all week, and she assumed it was just the lighting, but here she saw his eyes were lilac mixed with ivory and dark blue. An alluring color mix, if she didn't suspect it meant he was downright miserable.

"A-About a week..." Kelly muttered, looking at his hands, "I-I'm sorry I killed your friend." he then started crying again. Adelina frowned,

"She's not dead. You just have to wake her up, undo what you've done." Her eyes widened, "You don't know how to do that, do you?" Kelly shook his head, clearly wondering if he even could. But before she could talk, she shrieked as she got a haircut from Dorian's scythe getting chucked at her and barely missing, it also very nearly cut Chandra in half vertically.

Dorian glared through half-lidded eyes, "Screw...you...bitch..." he exhaled, passing out again from the effort. Harrison grabbed the scythe, pointing his gun at Adelina,

"Seeing as your friend just tried to attack my friend, we're taking her for a serious chat. You seem like a nice girl, so how about you leave." Amelia had never seen such rage in Harrison's eyes. However, he was also clearly torn about the whole thing, not quite ready to downright kill someone their age. Adelina's eyes widened,

"I'm not leaving without Chandra."

"How about I rephrase that. You leave before I blow out Chandra's brains." A lie if Amelia ever saw one. Harrison would never, but he was also livid that Chandra dared try to get Regina to corrupt Dorian, but then burn him near to death.

Adelina scurried backward, and she pulled out a dirk, looked at it in disgust for a second, gazed at Kelly one more time, before relenting and putting the weapon back. She stared at Chandra, clearly upset,

"Don't hurt her. And I really need her back in a couple days. So don't..." she sighed, "One day, you'll understand why I'm desperate. I'm sorry your friend got hurt." She stumbled away, and Amelia's heart clenched when she heard the girl start weeping and walk back in the direction of Regina. She turned to Harrison,

"Do you really think we should chase her away like that?"

"Not entirely sure. But we can't have Adelina busting Chandra out before we have nice...talk." Mercy looked up from Dorian,

"The burns are really severe. I've done what I can, but he still needs a hospital. But it will be hard to move him without putting him in worse pain."

Amelia smiled, putting her Miraculous around his neck. Dorian blinked awake a second, and she bent down beside him,

"Say: Jaay, let's fly." Dorian obeyed and was covered in the transformation. It helped with the pain and made his back less sensitive to being carried. Harrison used his free hand to help Kelly up from where he was crying on the ground. It was amazing how his tear ducts hadn't dried out yet.

Mercy smiled sadly, "Mother did something to Mara, and now she's on a manhunt for the traitors who helped you escape. Meredith, our sister, had to flee for her life just because she didn't stop your escape. At this point, more of us are on your side than you'd think, but nobody wants to go against Mara and end up like Morrigan." She shuddered, "But if you need a healer, come find me at work. I'm going to be taking up a job in a small clinic downtown."

Amelia nodded, wanting to hug her sister. She'd really missed her sisters and was glad to hear they were supporting her and Kelly more than their mother.

Harrison grunted at the effort of carrying Chandra, seeing as he was a twig, and this was the most exercise he had ever gotten, especially since he'd been excused from gym class after nearly dying in the locker room back in middle school. Adrenaline was probably the only reason he could stand, and she could tell judging by his coughing that he needed his vest.

They had to walk back to the mansion. Kelly eventually took Chandra, so Harrison didn't exhaust himself. It was also this moment that Amelia came to realize nobody at school knew Kelly was alive. Sure, she'd been saying it for months, but everybody thought she was in denial about the death. But looking at him now, with how pale he was and the dark smudges under his eyes, it was reasonable to think he was a walking corpse.

Kelly frowned as they walked past news reports, and some various decorations and memorabilia for Lionheart, their deceased superhero. He sighed, adjusting Chandra to make her easy to carry.

Once they got to the mansion, Amelia was grateful that Harrison's parents were probably at work. Tazri took one look at them, with two unconscious people being carried between them, and groaned at their antics.

"Why am I not surprised?" She muttered, "It's pointless arguing with you. Oh, and another villain trying to kidnap you got roasted by your death ray."

"Glad to hear it works." Harrison mused, and he put in the 8-digit code to get into his room, and then used a hand and eye scanner to open the entrance to his lab, where he helped Kelly plop Chandra into a fireproof box no bigger than a coffin. Yeah, not the most pleasant thing.

"Okay. Now what?" Amelia asked. Harrison brightened, pulling a lever and starting to fill the box with water, "HARRY NO!"

Harrison nodded, "You're right. We need her to wake up first!" He turned to where Kelly had hidden in a mound of blankets in the moping corner. Amelia huffed,

"We're not killing her or experimenting on her!" She took the Miraculous off Dorian's neck and put him on the bed they had in the lab for purposes such as them working into the night, or having a fear of getting kidnapped, and needing a secure place that was even more of a death trap to hide in. His back was still a horrific mess, but there were no visible bones, and that was considered a win. Worst case, they'd put him in the cave to heal if he really needed to be hidden.

Kelly looked up, his head the only thing visible from his blanket pile, "I don't think she's gonna wake up."

"Why not?" Harrison asked, "Just poke around in her head and screech. I have no idea how to help you, so trial and error on a villain who hurt our friend, wanted him corrupted, and is in no way related to you seems like a good plan."

"I don't want to hurt people..."

"Well, you'll just be waking her up. And if something goes wrong, I'll try and help you fix it." Kelly looked at the box with Chandra tightly bound inside it. He sighed.

"I don't know how." Amelia smiled softly,

"You of all people know that I couldn't fly perfectly on my first go. I crashed into countless trees. And she's already out. What's the worst that could happen?"

"So much." Kelly sighed, looking at Chandra and willing himself into her mind, finding that he's shut her mind down, unable to interact with the rest of her.

He found himself drifting in her mind, like a physical being. He forced her awake and jolted awake in his own body, nearly laughing in relief as she shot awake, very clearly unhappy at being locked in a box. She struggled for a moment, trying to alight, only to fail miserably. Amelia turned and saw Kelly had passed out from the effort, curled up in his blankets. Amelia picked him up and put him on the bed with Dorian.

Harrison was holding a remote, "Okay. That box is fireproof and is quite challenging to break. Even if you do break free, I have a death ray pointed at the box that will smite you in less than a second."

"Harry," Amelia warned, "Are you about to torture her for information?!"

"No! I'm gonna ask questions and experiment on her! Come on, Mia, this is a villain who isn't related to you! How often do I get my hands on one of these?!"

"Stop smiting the ones who try to kidnap you then!" There was one seethrough part of the box, showing Chandra's face, and they could see she was both parts angry and bemused by her captors arguing over whether or not to smite her. Her hair lit up again, only to get a ton of water dumped on her from the pipe above. What hadn't evaporated immediately fell to the bottom, and the water was probably to her kneecaps.

"Do I seriously have to remove the oxygen in there?" Harrison asked, shaking in rage. This was a dark side of Harrison that Amelia had never seen before. But then again, this was the first time somebody has hurt his friend, and he could do something about it, "You hurt my friend, badly. So any patience I would have for you is gone. You're lucky I didn't shoot your friend." She was clearly pissed at the idea of Adelina being hurt, only to get more water dumped on her and flooding the box.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Amelia asked worriedly. Harrison turned,

"I want to see if the water can snuff out her fire, as in permanently. But this is mainly to keep her from lighting up again. Don't worry, I have no plans of intentionally killing her."

"But are you sure this is a good idea? This is wrong, Harry."

"I DON'T CARE!" Harrison roared, letting out an outburst and showing he really did have a temper, "Do you know how painful it is _every day_ to have everyone treat you like you're made of glass and it's only a matter of time before you break? You, Kels, Dorian, Mor...the only ones who didn't treat me like that, unless the danger was real and not just my illness. You guys keep me sane, and how can I repay you? Bubkiss. I have stood by, waiting in the wings, as Kelly and Morrigan got killed, and Dorian is now in this state, where me putting him in suspended animation so he can heal painlessly...!" He coughed, clenching his fists, "And _she_," he gestured to Chandra, "hurt my friend, and tried to have Regina corrupt him. I'm sorry, Mia, but I can't take it anymore. I can act, and I will."

"Kid, you've got it wrong." Chandra gasped out, her head barely remaining out of the water since Harrison had left the valve open. She'd most likely evaporated most of it, but the water was also going in from below.

Harrison turned, slowly, towards Chandra. Amelia was genuinely terrified by how angry her usually gentle friend was. He only used his weapons in self-defense, but here he actually _wanted_ to hurt Chandra.

Kelly woke up after a moment, seeing Harrison getting increasingly sadistic, and sat up, "Harry...don't...she's not going to hurt us." Harrison turned incredulously, and Chandra brightened, since Kelly understood this. Amelia frowned to where Dorian was now in the same pod Kelly had been placed in while dead. She wanted to hear what Chandra had to say, but also didn't want to endanger herself and her friends.

Harrison glared back at Chandra, starting to slowly drain the water from the box. He opened the box, but he did not liberate her from the equally fireproof restraints. She was sopping wet and clearly angry. Then she got sprayed with the fire extinguisher,

"Just making sure this thing works." Harrison taunted cruelly. Chandra growled, her hair drying instantly as her hair almost became flame again, only to get sprayed with the fire extinguisher once again.

She spat out some of the chemicals, "Damn Joselyn, didn't warn me Harrison has a dark side." she said this quietly, and Amelia was beyond confused. Joselyn?

Kelly sat up, cocking his head, "Your name is Chandra Nalaar, right?" Chandra nodded,

"Yeah." She tried to rip herself free of the restraints, but just because she was awake did not mean she was at full physical strength. Amelia got up, putting up her hands to show she wasn't armed,

"If you promise not to light me up, I can get you out of the restraints." Chandra nodded, and Amelia slowly but surely got the restraints off and wrapped her in a blanket, putting a towel on her head to help dry it, "I'll grab some tea."

"Tea?! You're giving this bitch the time of day!?" Harrison gaped, "Dorian nearly died because of her!"

"Actually, I was just trying to catch him. Fire is how I solve pretty much every other situation." Chandra sent Harrison a death glare, and Amelia went upstairs and grabbed some tea. She saw the moon was high in the sky, but it was only 10:18pm, so it wasn't her birthday yet. She brewed the tea and stole some of Tazri's clothes for Chandra, since those clothes would have a better chance of fitting. Chandra could catch a cold if she stayed in her soaked armor.

When she came back, Chandra and Harrison seemed to be having a glare-off, and Kelly was curled on the bed in the blankets, clearly tired. Dorian was still unmoving in the pod.

"I have tea. And clothes." She put it down and handed some to Chandra. "How about you explain who you are and what's going on." Chandra gave her a wary look, but did drink the tea, shivering a little bit from the ice water dumped on her,

"As you know, I'm Chandra, and... I'm from the future."

"WHAT?!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Time travel?**

"So let me get this straight," Harrison mused, "You're from the future?"

"Yes," Chandra said, still shivering but gradually starting to warm back up, "Adelina and I are trying to stop a tragedy in the multiverse that leads to the death or corruption of her family, and therefore stop the apocalypse."

"Damn." Amelia crossed her arms, "And what does corrupting Dorian have to do with that?"

"See, we initially tried to stop the corruption. But once that made things worse in the future, we realized it needed to happen. So we were trying to fix our mistake, but Dorian managed to flee."

"So, to save the future, we have to sacrifice our friend?" Harrison said bitterly, "Well, hate to break it to you, but your little fire trick put him in such a state that I doubt he'll last the night even if we take him to the hospital."

They all turned to the pod where Dorian slept, and they noticed his vitals were not good at all. Harrison made a move to put Dorian in suspended animation, but Kelly stopped him.

"Maybe we could take him to the cave where you left me. The future isn't our problem right now. The present is, though."

"Really? You'd rather sacrifice your daughters?" Kelly whirled around in shock,

"What!?" Chandra nodded,

"If Dorian is an active part of your lives, you will never meet your wife and have three daughters." Amelia frowned at the slight smirk on Chandra's face as Kelly grew paler, staggering back a little bit.

"Wait, so Kels isn't a virgin forever?" Amelia found herself asking, "Huh. I thought having lived around witches would have closed him off from sex forever after the Maggie incident." Kelly shuddered, remembering when Maggie lost control of her animal side and tried to tear his clothes off.

Chandra shrugged, "I don't know the details of how the three came to be, just the fact their lives depend on you, or, more specifically, getting Dorian out of the picture. The corruption spell is gradual, so he'll still be himself until..." she counted on her fingers for a second, "Thirteen-ish years from now."

"Oh lovely," Harrison muttered, "So we get to watch him go insane. That's fun. But again, he's probably gonna be dead soon, so it doesn't matter. Congrats, bitch, you broke the future. Because if he was meant to be corrupted today, even if he lives, it will take weeks."

"And he needs his other powers..." Chandra muttered, "So I'll call Adelina, and she can copy a healer's power on Innistrad or something. Then you take him to the cave and leave him there for a bit."

"Um...why again should we help you?" Harrison asked, "Sure, Kelly has kids in the future, but that is an issue for the future. And you could be a villain, with Dorian being a hero in the future. Even if you show me some fucking memories, I have no reason to believe a word you say. Hate to break it to you, but nearly killing my friend is no way to make me help you." He gestured to his death ray, "Fireproof or not, this thing will smite you. So get out of my face. And if I ever see you near, here again, I will not hesitate to kill you _and_ Adelina."

"Rude." Chandra got up, "Fine. I'll just have to go grab Adelina and make another plan. At least let her in to heal Dorian, if you want him to live, that is."

"She's a healer?"

"That's one of many powers when it comes to her." Chandra shrugged, and then Harrison got tired of her and shoved her out the window.

"Harry!"

"What? You wouldn't let me experiment on her, and I was getting tired of listening to her trying to make us betray our friend."

"Wow," Kelly crossed his arms, "You are in a bad mood."

"Yeah. And why wouldn't I be if a bitch came and tried to roast my friend then come up with some lie to make us work with her."

Amelia nodded a little bit, "That's fair."

"But what if she's telling the truth?" They both turned and saw Kelly looking small as he curled into the ball. He was looking out the window at where Chandra was flipping off the window.

The clock chimed midnight, and Amelia smiled a little, looking towards Dorian in the pod,

"We should probably get to bed. Harry...were you being honest about Dorian not lasting the night?"

"You really think I'd give a villain the time of day? He's gonna be fine. Sore as hell for a while, but he'll live. Maybe we should take him to the cave. I made a mask that replicates the effects in the pod, that way he's in suspended animation while in the cave."

"Sweet." Jaay emerged from his food drawer, "And Harry, what the hell did you put in the marshmallows, they taste a little weird."

"Oh, they're supposed to mess with brain chemistry to manipulate emotions. I ate one earlier today...or yesterday. Midnight is a weird time."

"That explains so much." Amelia mused, "Jaay, ya up for transforming? As much as I disapprove of Harry's methods, he has a point. We need to keep Dorian safe."

"But what if Chandra is telling the truth? I don't want to..." he was shaking, and Amelia sighed,

"Kels, I know you're worried about being a parent and if you'd be a good one. Chandra's method was smart, but I'm pretty sure she's lying."

"But what if she's telling the truth?! What if not working with her kills my children!" He pulled his knees closer and wept a bit. Jaay turned to Harrison,

"Did you have a depression marshmallow?"

"No. But I think I have a happy one." He dug into his drawer, "I...haven't tested these on anyone but myself. Wanna risk it or...?"

"Yeah. I don't mind. Probably will take my mind off things." Harrison gave him a marshmallow, and Kelly downed it, then passing out.

"Oh fucking, finally." Harrison muttered, "He needs sleep."

"Harry..." Amelia sent him a worried look, "Don't eat any more of those. Okay?"

"Yeah. I feel a little lightheaded. Anyway, we should go protect Dorian now."

Amelia felt her heart clench a little bit. She missed normal Harrison when he would acknowledge his own moral limits and fangirl about different magic. The Harry she knew would be flipping out about the idea of time travel and be pushing for every single detail. That sparkle in his eyes like an anime character when he was excited was frankly adorable, and she'd missed it.

"Jaay, let's fly." She transformed and took Dorian out of the pod, and he flopped into her arms, still out cold as Harrison put the mask over his nose and mouth. If Amelia had to guess, Dorian was breathing in a drug of some sort to keep him asleep.

"I'm gonna go alone, Harry. You should get some sleep or try to work off that drug. I'll work faster if I can run there and back." Harrison nodded, and White Sparrow hopped out of the window and ran to the cave, opening it and placing Dorian in the chair, where there were still a ton of pillows waiting. The weird rock above the chair pulsed with magic, but she didn't overthink about it since it was most likely a protection spell.

When she left the cave, she gasped when she saw Makane come out of the trees,

"M-Makane?!" Makane smiled, handing her two wooden boxes with a sloppy bow on top.

"Happy birthday, Mia. Tell Kelly I wish him the best. I heard from Mercy that he's alive. I don't know how you managed to do it, but I'm glad." Sparrow's eyes watered a bit, knowing Makane was risking her life to get here and deliver these gifts. She hugged her big sister,

"Thank you, Makane. It means a lot."

"No problem. Oh, and that Chandra chick arrived a little bit ago. They're plotting to corrupt Dorian or something. But then it was revealed Dorian is dying, so Adelina vanished in purple sparkles, something about a healer, and a mind mage to get Harrison on board. But you know as well as I do that anyone willing to work with mother, especially for a plan like this, is bad news."

"Thanks for the information. And it's great to see you." She looked around the forest, "You know...you could say you're spying on us, and come see Kelly. He recently developed...powers...and really needs emotional support. Especially since Chandra fabricated a lie that his three kids in the future will cease to exist if he didn't betray Dorian."

"Bitch. What a low blow. You know...maybe I could convince Maki to slip her something strong...like cyanide but better." Maki was the witch of alchemy, but poisons were her side-specialty.

"You really think Maki would do that?"

"Probably. Maki says there's something about Adelina she doesn't like. Even Mithian and Maescia are agreeing. Matilda is just jealous that mother likes the new girl better than her own children."

"So, you really think they'd help us?"

"Maybe. Mara's really been cracking down on traitors the last couple months, so we've all taken to preparing death traps outside our door. We're family, so we unite." They started running as they spoke, back to the mansion so Makane could see Kelly, "The only reason most of us did nothing with you and Kelly was the pure shock of it. Some of us were told early, but only a handful of us, and only because we knew you two best, and she wanted to see if we knew anything. I suspected Kelly from the beginning, so I was able to react and help you guys out."

They stopped at the gate to the mansion, "You suspected Kelly?"

"Yeah. Literally your first day of being heroes, he came up to me and asked how to shoot a bow and arrow. Lionheart has the same weapon and struggled that first day. I'm not an idiot. I'm proud of you two."

"Thanks." She detransformed and walked into the mansion. Tazri noticed but decided not to ask questions since she didn't care what Amelia did so long as Harrison wasn't in danger.

Amelia knocked on the door, "Harry, I'm here with a visitor. Can you let us in?" Harrison opened the door, and was clearly going through some substantial withdrawal, "What did you do?! I've been gone for an hour!"

"Tried to work off the drug. It's not fun to work off."

Makane frowned a little, but shook Harrison's hand, "We haven't officially met. I'm Makane."

"I'm Harrison," Harrison said tiredly, "Kelly's asleep, but he'll wake up if you shake him."

Makane walked in, careful not to break anything, and shook Kelly gently. He opened his eyes, and they were a swirl of different colors before settling on his standard blue.

"M-Makane?" Makane grinned, ruffling his hair,

"Happy birthday, Kelly." Kelly rubbed his eyes sleepily, hugging his mentor tightly. The drug left him tired still, but they could all tell he was elated to see her.

"I missed you."

"And I you." Makane put her fingers under Kelly's chin, so he was looking up at her, "I heard you got powers now." His eyes changed to darker blue,

"Yeah...it didn't go well." He sighed, "I don't want these powers."

"You know, there are many of us witches who thought the same. But you just need to better yourself and master your powers. Remember, six years ago? You were a scrawny little thing with no combat training. Now you're growing into a fine, badass young man. I'm proud of you, kiddo." She looked out the window. It was roughly three in the morning, "I probably need to go now. Are you okay?"

Kelly nodded for the first time in a while, genuinely smiling, "Thanks for believing in me. I guess I needed to hear it from my mentor. I'll work to improve. You're right." Makane laughed, ruffling his messy hair,

"That's the spirit! I'll come to check on you as soon as I can." She then opened the bedroom window and hopped out, running off into the night.

Harrison frowned from where he stared out the window, "What a colossal death flag. I'll be surprised if she doesn't die by tomorrow."

"The fact that you're pointing it out, Harry, undoes the death flag." Amelia said with a chuckle, "Don't you get it? Just by talking about the death flag, the death flag is gone! That's all you gotta do to stop the death flag. You just gotta mention it."

"Wow, that's some meta-commentary, Mia," Kelly said, his eyes twinkling, yet ready to go back to sleep.

Amelia just shrugged in response.

OoOoO

It was roughly sunrise when Makane snuck back into the Blackwell Manor, making sure to get past the various death traps.

She noticed Adelina and Chandra sleeping in Kelly's former broom closet of a room. Makane clenched her fist at how life was just going on as though the majority of them hadn't betrayed Kelly, Morrigan, and Amelia.

How easy it would be for Makane to snap that little brat's neck now. But then she'd be revealed as a traitor or get roasted by the pyromancer, and then she couldn't help Kelly.

So she had to settle with the next best thing to get those two out of here. Kill the pyromancer first. Monica wasn't nearly strong enough to face off with fire, and there was no way Mikan would use her wind to choke the pyromancer out.

So her only option was to go to Maki.

Sure enough, she found the early-riser witch in her lab, brewing something or other.

Maki had long, wavy, fuschia hair that was cut unevenly. She had light, greyish-purple eyes, nicely complimenting her mocha skin. She wore a white suit with multiple straps wrapped around her arms, and two straps hanging loosely around her legs. Her shirt was ripped at the hem, and the collar part of it was gone entirely, making her cleavage easily visible, and significant parts of the uniform were fixed with metal clips. She had multi-colored buttons running down the middle of her shirt. She also wore two-colored black and purple slip flats, and a white belt.

"Maki-roll!"

Maki looked up from her experient with narrowed eyes, "What do you want, Makane?" Makane wrapped an arm around Maki's shoulders,

"What do I want? Do you really think I'd just come in here because I want something?"

"Normally, I'd say no, and I have a feeling you actually want to spend time with me. But I can tell by the fact you came home late on Kelly and Amelia's birthday that you're feeling horrible about what happened to them and are probably needing a poison or something. Most likely has something to do with the newcomers."

"And here I thought Maya was the observant one." She said this sarcastically, but it was true that Maya could be really perspective when she wanted to be. But her wanting to be usually meant yaoi.

"So, what is it?"

"Well...you know the newcomers? I want you to make a poison to kill them both."

"Are you insane?!" Maki took multiple steps back, "That's crazy! Mother likes them! And that could easily pin the blame on me!"

"It won't, Maki." Makane assured, "I already talked Matilda into serving tea at lunch today. All you need to do is create a poison that would cause instant death, preferably designed for a pyromancer."

Maki crossed her arms, "Mara is going to suspect me."

"You leave poisons out all the time."

"Okay...what are you going to pay me in return for this? You're asking me to create a deadly, untraceable poison designed for a pyromancer, in nine hours."

"Um..." Makane crossed her arms, "I'll take your dish week for ten years."

"Hundred years. Because that's actually only twenty-five takings of my dish week."

"Deal." Makane shook Maki's hand because this was absolutely worth it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The painful truth**

Regina was quite enjoying the company of Adelina. The child certainly had potential, especially since she was half-darkling, a most fascinating detail. And she kept twirling a dirk in her hands sadly, almost as though she hated it with all her heart but also couldn't bear the thought of letting go.

Currently, they were once again talking about that boy with the scythe. A formidable foe, yes, but it was intriguing how the two planeswalkers who came here were adamant that the boy needed to be corrupted, and doing so would defeat the Worldbender and the Warlock in the prophecy. Frankly, that opportunity, no matter how risky, was too good to pass up.

The problem? Kelly and Amelia hid the boy somewhere in the forest, and there was an enchantment that prevented them from finding him. This had pissed off the pyromancer, Chandra, especially when she learned that the young genius had lied to her about the elastic boy's condition.

She sighed. She really should learn some names, but having to keep track of her hundreds of daughters and all their names was challenging enough.

Currently, she was discussing over lunch with Chandra and Adelina about what exactly had to be done for this whole plan to work.

"So, assuming he ever gets out of wherever he's hidden, how exactly am I supposed to corrupt him? I wouldn't be surprised if Kelly and his little science friend were protecting him." Chandra smirked a little at that,

"I've already handled that. I told Kelly that if Dorian is a part of their lives, his children will never come to be. Not necessarily true, but that should be enough to make him crack and let it happen."

"Kelly having kids?" Regina sent Chandra an odd look, "Huh. That is not something I ever thought I'd hear." She then frowned as Chandra paled, from where she was eating, "Chandra? Are you okay?"

Chandra then fell over out of her seat with little in the way of warning. Adelina jumped up,

"Chandra?!" She bent down at her companion's side. Regina, still recovering from the stab wound Kelly gave her, was only able to look on as the other witches came in. Mara ran over to Adelina, checking Chandra's pulse.

"We need to get her to the infirmary, or she's dead."

There was a lot of shouting and confusion among the young witches as Mara carried a dying Chandra to Mercy's room, aka the infirmary.

Once Regina and Adelina were the only ones in the room with Mercy, the young healer examined the pyromancer.

"Poison, and a potent one at that. Almost like it was designed _specifically_ for Chandra." Mercy gestured to her, "Throwing her entire system into chaos, and it may provoke her fire to the point she will burn herself alive from the inside out. But then again, she's a planeswalker, so I'm not sure since mana-based beings are not my specialty. But either way, it's still a fatal poison, and it will easily kill her."

Regina clenched her fists. Either Amelia had somehow snuck her way in and slipped Chandra the poison, or there really was a traitor among them.

"I-Is she gonna be okay?" Adelina asked quietly, sheepish. Mercy sighed,

"If I can find out what poison or even poison_s_ was used, she'll hopefully pull through. But if not, I'd say she has until sunset."

"That's in six hours!"

"Exactly."

Regina then brightened, opening the door and shouting through the halls,

"MAKI BLACKWELL! Get in here!" Maki came in a few moments later, clearly terrified.

"Yes, mother?"

"You're the poison expert, yes?"

"N-No...it's just a hobby of mine. I'm not any good at it. W-Why?"

Regina crossed her arms because it was clear Maki was petrified with fear. Sure, the young one was timid, but this was something else. Of course, she'd probably heard theories or something that poison was the cause, and knew it would be traced back to her. This was why Regina doubted it was Maki since it was too easy to trace back.

"Chandra has been poisoned, seems specifically designed to be fast-acting, and for a pyromancer." At the look on Maki's face, she chuckled, "Don't worry, Maki, you're not a suspect. You're too dumb to make a poison as masterfully crafted as this, yet smart enough to know poison would automatically make you the most suspicious. So, I'm enlisting you to make an antidote."

"Thanks...I guess." Maki played with a strand of her hair, "But I can't make a cure if I don't know what exactly was used. How long should she have, Mercy?"

"Six hours, maybe less. Probably less."

Maki sighed, "By the time I find out what was used and make an antidote, she's going to be double dead."

"Well," Regina nodded, "This means we have to find the traitor among us."

Maki's eyes widened, and then she brightened a little bit, something Regina didn't notice, but Mercy did. "Well, mother. Anybody could have gotten into my lab for ingredients and such, but they'd have no idea how to brew them. Only a handful of us know how to do that, and this is so masterfully crafted it's doubtful it's one of us. However, the Sommers boy with the death ray, he would have the knowledge and equipment to do this. Plus, Chandra was held captive by him and then released for unknown reasons. What if he poisoned her there, and it's been in her system for a while, meaning it's not as fast-acting as we'd think."

Regina brightened because she hadn't thought about that. The dying boy was most certainly a potential culprit, and Maki's argument made sense. Because seriously, the majority of her daughters were too simple-minded to do something like this on their own.

"Excellent insight, Maki. You are permitted to examine Chandra and see what you can find to help her. I'll send Misu or maybe Mikan to go attempt kidnapping the boy again."

"Isn't that a suicide mission?" Adelina asked, "I'll go. I have... a possible way to get it, but it would only work for an illusionist like me. If I'm lucky, I can sneak my way in and possibly even find a way to retrieve Dorian."

"Very well," Regina nodded, snapping her fingers and gifting the young one with a new knife, "You might need this. It's called Truth Teller, and it's enchanted to force the truth out of anyone. A lie will burn them to a crisp."

Adelina fiddled with the knife for a moment, brightening significantly for some odd reason that seemed to be more than just grateful for a gift.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Best of luck, half-breed." Regina waved to the child as she hopped out the window and ran off in the direction of the Sommers Mansion.

OoOoO

School was something Kelly had failed to emotionally prepare himself for. He was fortunate he'd only missed the last week and a half of school after finals, so he mainly missed the summer break. And now, with Dorian gone, rumors were going around that Amelia and sacrificed Dorian in a ritual to bring Kelly back from the dead.

Since Kelly had been one of the more popular boys in school before this whole mess, he wasn't attacked or bullied. Instead, Amelia was, since the Blackwell family had always been known as weird. People still hadn't fully realized Kelly had lived with the Blackwells for years.

As he wandered through the halls of the school, sitting in his new classroom, he sighed when he saw there was still a pop tart in his bag from months ago, his emergency food for Pikko when there was no other option. This was going to be the first time he was truly surrounded by strangers in a class.

The teacher looked through the attendance list,

"Dorian Nanami?" Silence, until another student raised his hand,

"Haven't you heard? Dorian got sacrificed by the Blackwell freak to bring Kelly back from the dead."

And then Kelly found himself inside his classmate's head, seeing this man's name was Jake. Immediately, he tried to let go, but his power wasn't letting him. Nobody called Amelia a freak and got away with it. But he didn't want to hurt anybody either.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to be doing anything too much other than giving his classmate a headache.

_"Don't talk about her like that,"_ he warned, and then forced himself to let go. While he hadn't hurt Jake, the sudden silence did freak everyone out enough that the teacher had a chance to start the lesson.

Kelly's heart clenched as he remembered what Adelina had said about children. He had children in the future? If she was speaking the truth, then he had to betray Dorian and would have to watch him go insane. It really was a hard decision.

He tapped his foot absently and took notes without thinking, making sure to tune out anyone talking.

His day went like this almost entirely, until lunch came around, in which he was shocked to see Adelina running towards him,

"Da—Kelly!" She stopped right in front of him, and Kelly saw she wasn't wearing her black trench coat, revealing a tight grey tunic underneath that hugged her bust more than he had expected. He also saw the word MONSTER carved into her arm. He immediately grabbed her arm,

"Who did that?!" Adelina looked at the mark, but pulled it back,

"That doesn't matter right now. The one who did that is dead. But Chandra's been poisoned! I need yours and Harrison's help!"

Kelly took a step back, "Woah, okay, time out. What? Why would I want to or even be able to help you?"

"I..." Adelina hesitated, and Kelly took that time to observe her features. He wasn't sure if he was crazy, or if she shared a strong resemblance to him. Then he saw her realize something, and she removed the rose-gold locket she had been wearing, handing it to him, "Open it."

Curiosity getting the best of him, Kelly obeyed and was shocked by what he saw.

It was him, next to three girls. Two of the girls seemed roughly his age, with one being practically a genderbend of him, and the other not sharing much resemblance. The third girl was much younger, maybe ten or eleven. And on the inside, there were names engraved,

Kelly and daughters. 2024.

He gaped at the picture in the locket. He supposed it was possible his aging had stopped since he had powers now, but he hadn't really thought about that.

Maybe he could get Harrison to analyze the photo to see if it was real.

"Can I...borrow this?"

"Sure. But sir, I really need help for my friend." Kelly didn't hear her all that much, holding the picture up next to her. The youngest of the three children bore a striking resemblance to the young woman in front of him, could she be...

Adelina swatted the locket away, "Not the time. Where's Harrison?"

"Doctor's appointment like he is every other Tuesday. He'll be back in maybe three hours."

"Damnit." Adelina cursed, her shoulders shaking, "Do you know anything about poisons?"

"Not much. I'm really sorry, but I have no idea how to help. The only person I could think might know is Maki, but if even Maki doesn't know, I have no idea what could possibly help." He watched as Adelina started crying, and his heart clenched. It really was the worst feeling in the world, especially as a superhero, to tell someone that you couldn't save their loved one, or worse, had failed. "H-Hey, I..." what was he supposed to say here? Judging by her behavior, Chandra was all she had, and she'd be alone again if Chandra died. So clearly, it wouldn't be okay.

And this his power was acting on its own, and he was in her head, but this time it was not causing pain, it was calming her down.

But in that time, Kelly saw bits and pieces of her memories, and he saw himself, a little older, carrying a much larger man on his back, placing the man in the cave and sealing it shut. That man hadn't been moving, and maybe not breathing. He was either dead or close to it, which was probably why he was hidden in the cave.

And then he saw a darker version of a young Adelina, smirking at her in the mirror, and the young child split her knuckles punching the glass.

And then he saw that same man from before, now awake and out of the cave, cradling the dead body of a young woman and crying. The woman looked like a combination of Harrison and Amelia from what he could see of her face, but it wasn't enough to discern too much.

Then he found himself flung into his own body, blinking a couple times. Adelina was staring at him with wide eyes.

"What did you just see?! H-How much..?"

"That man...is he your Dad or something?" At her odd look, he clarified, "Tall, brown hair, sea-green eyes, more muscular than I'll ever be,"

"Oh..._him_..." She hesitated, and Kelly barely noticed they were walking towards the doctor's office, "It's complicated. I'd rather not talk about it."

"He was crying over the dead body of a young woman." Adelina tensed, biting her lip,

"Yeah. A lot of things happened for a couple of weeks. That woman was his fiancé. I'm trying to stop that because...let's just say things only spiraled from there."

"Oh...I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine. But you can see why I'm desperate to fix this." She walked into the doctor's office with no trouble whatsoever,

"What? How are we...?"

"I'm an illusionist, it's what I do. Besides, that demon me you saw in your head, she made me eat souls, and I absorbed the talent of those souls. So I am a master in pretty much all forms of combat, and my magic is strong. I was given a chance to fix my faulty magic, but I'd lose most of my power. That isn't something I plan to do. Even if attacking others brings pain onto me, I need my powers if I want to save my family and ensure they remain safe."

He smiled a little bit, glad he could learn more about her without anyone around to make the situation aggressive. But he was confused,

"How did you know I saw that demon version of you?"

"Such a huge part of my life, that there's no way you didn't. I was only rid of my inner demon four years ago, but at a cost, I have grown to regret more than anything." They walked into Harrison's room, where a doctor was talking to him about further treatments. Adelina touched him, and the doctor yelped, as Adelina calmly walked away, dragging Harrison with her,

"Kels?! Adelina?! What the hell!"

"Sorry," Adelina said, "I really need your help, and it's not like those doctors end up helping you anyways. You're alive in the future, and downright told me the doctors were of no help to you."

"Let go of me!" Harrison squirmed, and Kelly was instead the one to try calming his friend down,

"Harry, she needs help. I think the witches poisoned Chandra. She doesn't have long, and we need an antidote. I also need you to analyze this photo to see if it's real," he held out the locket, and Harrison's eyes widened comically,

"Damn. Either Chandra was telling the truth, or that is one hell of a photoshop job. Especially for the eldest."

"I'd tell you their names, but that might impact the names they get. But Kelly, I know that deep down, you already know your eldest's name." Kell pondered this, looking at the girl in the picture as they walked, her identical blue eyes twinkling, and a bright smile on her face.

Then it hit him. The name of the child he had killed accidentally.

"Zoe. Her name is Zoe."

Harrison smiled, "Cute name. Looks like it would suit her."

"Oh, believe me, it really does." Adelina said with a chuckle, "You have no idea."

As they walked, Harrison started asking questions much more like himself and less like the sadistic man he had been when Chandra first told them about the time travel.

"So, how exactly did you time travel?"

"Magic."

"From what year."

"Roughly 2030 in this world, but time flows differently on different worlds."

"Different worlds?!" And now Harrison was practically jumping up and down with glee, getting out his journal and writing things down, "So are they like planets? Are there different species in each world? How does time flow differently, does it have to do with the rotation of the sun? Are there various scientific advancements? How do you travel between them?"

This went on for about ten minutes, with Adelina answering the questions that probably won't matter in the grand scheme of things, or just answering with yes and no, with no elaboration.

"Oh come on! Just one hint on traveling between worlds?"

"For the last time, no!" She had to purposefully look away from Harrison's puppy eyes. Kelly saw Harrison look annoyed, and then he started coughing and fell over.

"Harry!" He rushed over and caught his friend before he landed facefirst in the dirt. Harrison continued to cough for a moment, before hacking out some phlegm.

"Huh." Adelina looked down, "I hadn't realized that was a symptom."

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Harrison got up, wiping his mouth with a tissue, "This crap just lives in my lungs. That's why I want rid of this disease as soon as possible." He yelped as he felt two hands grab him, and they all turned and saw Amelia, looking rather grumpy. She had been wearing a pale blue short dress, and she'd clearly run here at superhuman speeds, so her dress was a little all over the place. She dusted her dress down and glared at Adelina,

"Okay, I finally found you three. The whole school is freaking out because 'some pirate chick' kidnapped Kelly." Adelina had an expression that she suspected her eyepatch was to blame for that.

"About that," Kelly asked, "Why do you have an eyepatch?"

"Got my eye cut out. Enough said." Kelly crossed his arms,

"A while ago, you said faulty powers, what did you mean by that?"

"Oh...when I fight, the pain I inflict on others also happens to me. So sat I were to make you think you had a papercut. I, too, would feel that pain. But luckily, my illusions can take damage, and I'm fine."

"Sounds like it sucks."

"Meh, not too much. It stops my dark side from getting too out of control."

"Why are your powers faulty?" Amelia asked, "I've never heard of magic being broken. A Miraculous? Sure. But not magic you're born with."

"Part of the price to get rid of my demons. My planeswalker spark was the target, but my powers paid the price. Look, I really cannot tell you anything more."

"Okay then...Where are we going?" Amelia asked, "I probably should have asked that first."

"Chandra got poisoned by Maki, and Harrison is supposedly the only one smart enough to make an antidote." Amelia crossed her arms,

"And why are we going back to the manor that could very well get us killed? I probably should transform if we're going in there." Harrison then pulled down his sleeve, revealing he had a portable cannon attached to his arm, with the thing being small enough to be hidden by a jacket.

"It's a portable version of my death ray because lord knows I need it." Adelina shrugged in response and guided the trio to the 'abandoned' manor. This was the first time Harrison saw the place, and he was clearly shocked.

Kelly ran his hand along the entrance to the place he had called home for so long. Going in now, he was a traitor. He remembered the day he'd first arrived when Regina asked him if he was of magic. His answer had been no then, but now, he assumed, would be the time he found out what happened if he had said yes.

Amelia put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Together, okay? We got kicked out together, and we're going back together. And hopefully, this time, one of us isn't on the brink when we leave."

"Okay. One...two...three..." the two best friends opened the door together and were greeted by a mixture of facial expressions from the witches at the door. Some were excited, some confused, and others screaming with their eyes, "What the hell are you doing here?! Run while you can!"

Harrison looked around in awe, taking note of everything in amazement. He had never been here, so he had only heard about this place.

There was a bunch of witches trying to shout over each other to get the first word in, and it was giving Kelly a headache. He clutched his head a bit, and Harrison noticed, deciding to reveal a different gun he had at his hip. Where he hid all these weapons while at school was a mystery, but it was understandable why he had them, since these were the women who had kidnapped him while at school.

Monica was the one to force her way to the front, "You're back!" She was one of the youngest, only eleven, so it made sense she still had an innocence to her that led her to think Kelly and Amelia hadn't left permanently.

"Where is Chandra?" Harrison asked coldly, but not impolitely, "I was told I needed to cure poison or something." Kelly smiled in relief because he could tell Harry was just putting up a front and wasn't on one of those mood-altering drugs.

Monica brightened, "This way! Come on! I made sure your room was still clean, Kelly. They said you weren't coming home."

"Monica..." Amelia sighed, looking at her little sister with sad eyes, "We really are gone for good. The only reason we're here is for Adelina's sake, and only because we need her to answer our questions. Once Chandra is better, we're probably going to be chased out again."

"But...everyone misses you..." She said with wide eyes, shocked by what she heard, "Everyone wants you to come back." She was promptly shut up by Macy covering her mouth,

"Now, Monica, why would we want traitors back in out home?" She sent Amelia a look that proved she was still indeed on their side, "These backstabbers shouldn't even be here."

"But—"

"It's true," Molara added, "We tried to tell you." Monica's lip quivered, and she clenched her fists, running off, probably to find Makane. Kelly had to bite the inside of his cheek hard to prevent a choked sob from coming out as the homesickness and pang of Regina's betrayal struck him.

They entered Mercy's room, and all froze at the sight of Chandra, extremely pale, and it took a good minute of focusing only on her to see any signs of breathing. Once Kelly got closer, he could hear her breath was somewhat wet.

"Well then," Harrison sent Regina a dark look from where she was glaring darkly at him while looking through some sort of spellbook.

"She's fading fast," Mercy said. Harrison took one look at Chandra and ran to the cabinet,

"Activated carbon, people, I need activated carbon! And give me those test results." He looked them over, "Okay, Amelia, can you translate this from magic language into science language?" She did, and he swore, "Tetrodotoxin, Oleander, and Hemlock among countless other things. Well, she's fucked."

"Tetrodotoxin?" Mercy asked,

"Found in the organs of pufferfish, and it persists even after the fish is cooked. If the toxin is consumed, paralysis and death strike within six hours. Added onto the other poisons and without doubt magic, you have yourself a fast-acting poison that will have her dead in a matter of hours."

"Is there anything that can be done?!" Adelina asked, terrified for her friend who's state was getting direr by the second.

"Maybe. That activated carbon might be able to deal with a good chunk of it since you came to me within two hours of Chandra ingesting the stuff. So does anyone here have that? Or should I just take her to my lab and have a better chance of succeeding. Worse case, I can keep her in my suspended animation pod while I work."

Regina crossed her arms, sending Kelly a look that would have him usually shrinking in terror. But he managed to keep a straight face. Amelia still winced at the glare.

"You know, you're quite bossy for a mortal." Harrison gave the matron the finger,

"And you're the one who wanted me to help your guest, so unless you want to condemn her to an agonizing death, I suggest shutting your goddamn mouth."

"Why you—" Harrison fired his portable death ray, with it missing her face by a mere inch. It was clear he didn't have to miss and was holding himself back for Amelia and Kelly's sake.

"Your power is manipulation, meaning you need others to fight your battles for you. And even if you can fight, that Ashwood that Kelly stabbed you with did quite the number on you. I doubt you can walk without assistance, and it makes me want to test on the wood to see what properties it has, and maybe weaponize it. So are you seriously going to try fighting me, the one with the death ray?"

Kelly whirled around when he heard Mikan whispering in Amelia's ear,

"If you don't marry him, can I have him?" Amelia turned bright red, and Kelly rolled his eyes, knowing it was only a matter of time before one of his surrogate sisters became interested in Harry.

Regina, shockingly, paled, and backed down. Harrison smirked, "That's what I thought." He put a small pad on the ground that Kelly recognized as one of the warp pads Harrison had built. He gestured to Chandra's lifeless body, "Adelina, Mia, Kels, can you carry her so I can work the pad?" They all shrugged and decided to roll with this, working to support Chandra, who was no longer in that armor, now a loose sweat-soaked white shirt and grey pants.

"Don't you dare die on me, Chandra." Adelina muttered, "Don't you dare."

Harrison pressed a button, and they were in his lab, where Harrison put on a lab coat and moved Chandra to the pod to make sure she didn't get worse. But before he activated the small chamber, he dug through a drawer until he found some activated carbon tablets and forced them into her system.

"That should keep her from dying for now. But I need something to handle the magic of the poison. Sadly, you three have either passive powers, or powers that will not be helpful right now."

"What kind of..." Adelina's eyes widened in realization, "I'll be right back," she vanished in purple shimmers, and came back about fifteen minutes later, "Okay, I copied the powers of a Zariyan healer. Best healers in the multiverse, and this one said she could treat tetrodotoxin poisoning with her powers." She opened the pod and placed both hands on each side of Chandra's neck, her hands taking a golden glow, which transferred to Chandra, who gained a little color to her face but still wasn't awake.

"Alright. Mia, can you go get that mixture I was making. I'm glad I know the treatments for tons of different poisons off the top of my head. That magic should handle the magical side of the poisoning and the tetrodotoxin. I should also take her to the hospital."

"Is that unavoidable?" Adelina asked worriedly, "She's probably gonna freak out about waking up in an unknown place, and I'd rather not risk anyone assuming her a villain like you did." Harrison turned to his fireproof box, pressing a button, so it laid in a flat position like a bed. Amelia moved her to the container once Kelly put pillows in for comfort, and Harrison forced the restraints on and shut the lid.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Not really. But you said Chandra might freak out. And I have tons of explosives in here. While we wait... Kels, do you still have that locket?"

"Yeah." Kelly pulled it out, noticed Amelia looked a little uncomfortable for some reason, and her face was red. He sat down next to her while Harrison worked on analyzing the photo, "You okay, Sparrow?"

Amelia hesitated, "It's nothing. Just that Mikan got under my skin. That's all." Kelly followed her gaze and saw she was looking at Harrison, and realization dawned on him.

"Do you have a crush on Harry?!" He whispered, and there was a flicker in her eyes that confirmed it for him. He threw his head back, trying his damndest not to laugh hysterically. He'd known about Harry's crush on Amelia for years. And right as Harry starts moving on from his crush, Amelia is developing a crush on him. But then again, life around here was such a farce he should have seen this shit coming a mile away.

Adelina chuckled a little bit, seemingly aware of what they were discussing. She went back to staring at the box where Chandra was, with an oxygen mask on the inside. She then pulled something out of her bag and handed it to Kelly,

"A sketchbook. It will help you control your powers." He looked to her, confused, but did take the book. Harrison then jumped up,

"Holy shit! It's real!" Amelia and Kelly got up and ran to where he was analyzing the picture, and, sure enough, it was a real photo.

Amelia staggered backward a few steps, and Kelly was frozen in shock.

"This means...there really are lives at stake...we really have too..."

"Betray your friend," Adelina said, and they all heard a weak scream from the box, and Kelly opened it once the initial fire blast was done,

"Chandra, calm down, we're not going to hurt you!" Chandra's eyes were still dilated weird, saying she wasn't fully recovered from the poison, but she also seemed lucid enough to communicate, "We just couldn't risk you burning down the lab." Adelina bent down and wrapped a blanket around Chandra since she had burned away the clothes she had been given while under the poison's effects,

"They believe us, Chandra. They're going to help." Chandra looked up, confused, and Adelina sighed, "Someone poisoned you. We nearly lost you."

"You're going to have to rest for a couple days, likely back at the Blackwell manor." Harrison said, "You aren't going to recover overnight. But, as much as it pains me to say...what do we have to do?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Spiraling out of control**

It took nearly three days for Chandra to even be able to walk on her own, according to Adelina, and a week after that to start trying to get her strength back. They'd let her stay in the Sommers mansion for the first day to make sure she didn't take a sudden and unexpected turn for the worst. She'd spent that time either sleeping or purging herself of the remains of the poison and was clearly not happy about it.

But Kelly found himself gravitating towards Adelina. Something about her was achingly familiar, but he just couldn't place it. But until they got Dorian...handled...she was going to school with them under the guise of being Kelly's visiting cousin.

The plan with Dorian was to have Amelia grab him from the cave, and tell the press he got kidnapped by the same villain group who kidnapped Harrison back when Lionheart was struck down. Since Dorian knew very little about that incident and had been in stasis for a while, even he would probably believe it. And then they'd see what Dorian would do. The hope was his recklessness would lead him back to Regina, so there would be no backstabbing needed.

Currently, they were sitting at lunch, with Chandra back at the Blackwell manor to rest. Kelly had managed to slip Makane a note to not kill her yet. He knew the letter would stop her for a little bit, but the others would probably try killing Chandra.

Adelina looked suspiciously at the school food, "Should you be eating that?" Kelly over to where she was watching the cheerleaders eat,

"Definitely not." Harrison replied, "I experimented on it once, and it didn't take much in the way of anything to make that shit glow. I could probably bring it to life with only a little more effort, but I didn't want a demonic meat monster running around. Tazri would never let me live it down." To their surprise, Adelina started laughing. Kelly gave her an odd look,

"What's so funny?"

"It's just...in the future...the villain in a popular sci-fi show is a giant demonic meat monster. So imagining a tiny version of that, made of school lunch, running around is kind of hilarious."

"Things sound weird in the future." She instantly stopped laughing,

"Weird cannot begin to describe it. Also, Kelly, don't let any magic hit your scar, or you'll go comatose for a while. And headaches are what triggers you to lose control. Head injuries turn into migraines that cripple you for days on end."

"That was a sudden topic change." Harrison mused, "If you're going to be staying here, you should probably try being a normal teenager."

"If you knew my life story and my family, you would know normal is not exactly in my dictionary."

"Sounds like our lives," Kelly said with a shrug, looking down at the scar on his wrist and sighing. They then heard shouts of shock and turned around to see White Sparrow carrying an unconscious Dorian bridal style. She landed in front of them, and Kelly saw Dorian wasn't wearing the mask that kept him in suspended animation, but he was still out cold.

But the most startling thing was streaks of Dorian's hair were bright citrine in a way as though power flowed through them, not just some hair dye.

"What happened to him?!" Maegan asked in horror, pulling out her phone to call for an ambulance. Sparrow shrugged,

"Two weeks ago, he got kidnapped by the people who killed Lionheart. Even with Misfit's help, it took a while to find Dorian. But we found him like this."

Within five minutes, an ambulance arrived to take Dorian to the hospital. Kelly watched them leave and squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what would soon happen.

Adelina held his hand, "You're doing the right thing. I know it's hard."

"I...I know."

"Remember, as soon as the spell is in place, I need to go. So there will come a time I don't come back." He turned to her,

"At least come to say goodbye, so I know. It's more so I know...when _it_ actually happened. He's going to be okay in the future, right? We're allowed to reverse the curse then?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

OoOoO

When Dorian woke up, he had no idea where he was. His vision was blurred, so he blinked a few times. And only then did he register the horrific pain in his back that led him to release a choked scream.

"Easy, Dorian, easy." He heard a voice say, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it until his vision fully cleared, and we saw his mother staring at him, her brown eyes looking upon him with worry.

"M-Mom? What happened? Why does my back hurt?" He whimpered, trying his damndest to remember. But all he remembered was trying to kill Regina, and then some redhead was chasing him and then—

Oh. The redhead probably shot fire at him, and he only managed to dodge a little. That was most likely the culprit of the current situation. Even if he had no memory, he still had logic.

His mother told him a story that he had been kidnapped by the same villains to kill Lionheart, but that was bullshit. He had very quickly been able to figure out Kelly and Amelia were Lionheart and White Sparrow and had known ever since he met them in 8th grade after moving here from a small town in Iowa. How nobody else had seen it was a mystery, but he was pretty sure Harrison and Morrigan had known. Their appearances and mannerisms were the same as superheroes, with Kelly being the de facto leader, but Amelia being the much more eager one.

But he kept their secret because he knew how it felt to need to hide such a tremendous detail about himself from the rest of the world. It was why his family moved to the city. Some sort of genetic mutation led to him having superpowers, and in a town where everyone knows everyone, and rumors are everywhere within the hour, that was a huge problem.

His parents had been traveling overseas for years to figure out what exactly led to his nifty superpower, and they left him alone most of the time, trusting him to not get in trouble. So the fact his mother was here meant something was very wrong and had been for a while, such as him getting kidnapped.

The doctor came in and explained magic was probably involved in the healing of his back due to how fast it was. But his back was still horribly scarred, and it would take a while for him to be able to move correctly. And he winced, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to stretch without regretting it. Once the doctor was gone, he tried it, only for his wounds to reopen, and he needed more bandages.

His mother looked at him, both parts sad and annoyed, "Dorian, what happened that led to you getting kidnapped."

"I don't remember. I think I hit my head." The truth, because a head injury would explain why he had no recollection of however long it had been.

"Your father is still overseas, but I've been here looking for you the past to weeks. I was terrified someone found out about you, and the government came. Especially when I learned about a new superhero with the same powers as you." Dorian tensed, and she narrowed her eyes, "Dorian Nanami, did you don the mask of a superhero?" His silence was her answer, and she went on a long rant about his powers that must remain hidden at all costs.

"Mom, nobody suspects it's me, especially if Sparrow said that Misfit helped her save me, which instantly takes me off the suspect list." His mother sighed, watching him suck in a breath to prevent himself from screaming as he sat up, "Besides, what's the point of having my powers if I can't help people?" He waved his arms around to prove a point, "See, I'm fine. Just a little sore."

But then his mother started screaming, and Dorian looked down at himself, realizing his skin was covered in citrine flames, "WHAT?! I couldn't do that before!"

The fire spread through the room, enveloping everything, including his mother, "Mother?!"

On instinct, he hopped out of bed, yelping at the pain in his back but still managing to back himself into the bathroom, where he caught a glimpse of the glowing strands of citrine hair. He looked at his hands, turned to where the fire was growing stronger and cried out when he saw his mother limp on the ground.

He didn't know what to do. It was evident that this power was directly tied to him somehow. But if he ran out of here, he might take it with him, and that was in no way good. Maybe...fire needed oxygen...

Using the bedsheet, he tied it to the ceiling fan, unable to believe he was doing this. He tied the other end around his neck and jumped. The force wasn't enough to snap his neck since there wasn't exactly a bone to break, but it was enough to choke him out for long enough that the flames went out.

It was then that White Sparrow burst in, likely unable to when the flames were intense, "Dorian?!"

"Help..." he then passed out.

...

Sparrow could not believe what she was seeing. Not at all.

When she had heard the hospital was enveloped in flames, she had been terrified Chandra was pissed and decided to burn down the hospital to get to Dorian. But once she got there, she saw the flames were an unusual citrine color.

She did her best with Kelly's help to get as many people out as possible, realizing the source really was coming from Dorian's room. And almost immediately as she realized that the flames went out, and Dorian had hung himself from a makeshift noose.

Now, of all the things she imagined from Dorian, hanging himself was not one of them. But maybe he had realized the flames were coming from him and knew that oxygen was a fuel source. That would make sense, and much less suicidal if he had known someone would find him before he died.

Before anyone else saw him like this, she untied the noose and lowered him into her arms, quickly performing CPR to make sure he woke up. He blinked a few times, looking around the room and the distinct lack of flame.

"Guess that plan worked." He said, his voice hoarse and bruises forming on his neck. His eyes then widened, and he scrambled over to the side of his bed, where Mrs. Namami was lifeless on the ground, "Mom!" His arm stretched to reach her and pull her off the ground, and Sparrow was amazed to see it happen, no matter how many times she did with him as her partner.

Her thoughts were brought back when a hand slapped her, "Snap out of it and get help!" He sighed, "Sorry, but this is important."

"Right! Right..." she ran to get a doctor, who started examining Mrs. Nanami. And then she went to look for Kelly, only to see Adelina cradling him, and the scar on his wrist was glowing citrine,

"Kelly?!"

"As I said," Adelina replied simply, "If magic directly hits the scar, his system overloads and he goes comatose. The weakness is a severe one, but nothing a cuff or something covering it wouldn't fix."

Sparrow sighed because she was getting really tired of her friends being in danger or unconscious all the time. She hadn't gotten true peace in like five months and was getting sick of this. She was only sixteen for crying out loud! But that was the life of a teenage superhero.

"Can you take him back to the mansion? I need to handle this Dorian situation and am only capable of worrying about one person at a time without crying." Adelina nodded, and picked Kelly up, walking out.

White Sparrow groaned. Oh, she couldn't wait for the rumors to spread. People already thought she'd sacrificed Dorian to bring Kelly back, and now Dorian was back, but Kelly was comatose. Lovely. This was gonna be interesting, and nothing short of a miracle if Kelly graduated on time.

She detransformed in a side room and gave Jaay a marshmallow, not expected to see her kwami shaking.

"Jaay?"

"Dorian and Kelly are incomplete stone wielders..." She frowned,

"What? Stone wielders?" Jaay waved it away,

"That part's not important. But what is important is the fact Kelly and Dorian each have half of the other's power. If I had to guess, Kelly got mind reading and altering with maybe a little offensive power, and Dorian got all the aggressive stuff with a little mind reading and altering. But because they both only have half, that is very unstable and would explain why a corruption spell took longer. But oh..." he shuddered "Dorian is going to be a _terrifying_ villain in the future. Even Kelly is in danger of going mad. Basically, there are three possibilities: they'll be fine, they'll break, or Maya will get her to wish. And there's no in-between."

Amelia bit her lip, "You know what? I need to go make sure Dorian doesn't do something stupid."

A loud crash was heard.

"I think it's too late." Jaay deadpanned.

"Yeah. I think so." They walked out and heard people screaming about Dorian having superpowers, and there was a gaping hole in the wall of his room, "Yep. I am pretty sure he did something _monumentally_ stupid."

...

Dorian ran through the woods at top speeds, noting the agony in his back. But hey, at least he'd stolen some clothing from a store on his run out. Too bad, it was now stained with blood. Man, burn scars that hadn't had a long enough time to rest sucked. They reopened too easily.

Now, there was a reason he had punched a hole in the wall and ran out into the night. Because his mother got announced brain-dead from those flames.

He looked around the woods, realizing he was distinctly lost.

"Well...okay. Where am I?" He frowned, "And why am I talking to myself? Probably blood loss. Oh wow, I _have_ lost a lot of blood. Something tells me magical healing still requires rest, and that is something I did not do." He chuckled a little bit and stumbled, "Conceal, don't feel. Mommy said that, and I fucked up royally. But hey, I killed her with green flames, like whoo," he waved his hand, and the green flames appeared in a little puff. "So what else would a terrified, injured teenager who had just accidentally murdered his own mother with newfound powers he hadn't had before do? Pro'bly not this, 'cause this is how you die in horror m'vies."

He collapsed on the ground, finding it hard to breathe, "Maybe I should just have a little lie de down." He closed his eyes, waiting for sleep or maybe death to claim him, and he could have sworn he saw that redhead in the window. But why would she be in the abandoned manor?

It didn't matter now, did it? Because he was drifting before he could think about it too much.

"_Dorian_!" Huh? Who was saying that? It was hard to make out because it felt like he was underwater almost.

The world went into turbulence of some sort. Was someone shaking him? Dorian frowned. No, that was crazy. Nobody was shaking him. Why would a creepy murderer be shaking him?

That was the last thing he thought before consciousness entirely left him...

...

Makane had been consulting with her fellow rebel sisters when they all heard the door fly open. At first, all thinking it was Mara, the witches scrambled and eventually made it look like they were about to start a scrying spell.

"Help! He needs help!" She looked up and saw Adelina carrying Dorian in her arms. The poor boy was bleeding sluggishly from his back, and judging by the marks, it was because he tried to stretch too fast, and his scars ripped open, not used to stretching like the rest of him was. And he'd probably been bleeding for a while.

This led to a moral debate within Makane as she gently took the unconscious boy from the girl. She knew what Chandra and Adelina wanted to be done to this poor kid, and that was horrible, and the moment they brought him to Mercy, Regina would be there to corrupt him. But she also didn't want an innocent boy to die.

But then again, maybe death was the better option. This boy wanted to help people, and here he was, being turned evil against his will. And worse, it happens gradually. An unimaginable fate.

That understanding made her freeze in her tracks. Macy turned to her,

"Makane? What's going on...?" Makane saw the look of recognition in Adelina's eyes, from the bitter smile.

"This isn't right!" Makane snapped, "He's a child, and here you are, Adelina, trying to pull strings! Cold-hearted bitch, I've been listening to you plotting with my mother, and at first, I let myself believe it was just a mask to get close to her." She passed Dorian to a stunned Maki and pinned the illusionist to the wall, and the pained squeak suggested the girl's shoulder was getting crushed, "Your friend? Not so much, and that's why she has to go. But maybe you're both the same. After all, what motivation could you possibly have to damn others to a fate worse than death?"

Adelina gasped, and Makane dully heard Molara screaming at her to stop. But right now, she didn't care. She turned to her sisters,

"Get Dorian out. Of. Here. Get him out of New York and somewhere far away." She hadn't noticed her other hand had gravitated to Adelina's throat until it was too late, and she saw the girl's face was becoming blue.

Adelina clearly was putting all her energy into moving her hand, and Makane jolted as she felt intense pain in her entire body, releasing Adelina. The pain instantly subsided, and Adelina took in huge gulps of air, weeping quietly. And Makane realized what she had just done, for a split second seeing Kelly in Adelina's place.

"Holy..."

"I...deserve that..." She was shocked to hear Adelina mutter, "Hell, had you met me four years ago, I would have been begging you to make me hurt more. And since you don't understand why I'm doing this, it's understandable..." Makane bent down beside the child, more curious than anything, still ready to snap Adelina's neck at a moment's notice. But it was possible she wouldn't be able to move her shoulder or left arm for a while since it was clear the shoulder bone was broken, and it was already starting to swell.

She picked Adelina up, taking her to the guest room to make sure she could set the bone before Mercy healed it.

"Okay, so if you aren't someone trying to commit evil with my mother, what is your goal?"

"To...hopefully save my Dad." Adelina said quietly, "Well, I have two kinda three dads. It's complicated. My sister calls it a Mamma Mia situation whatever the hell that means." Makane frowned,

"And creating a new villain helps that how?"

"Well, we originally arrived to stop the corruption that was already supposed to happen. But that made things worse in the future since Dorian was in their lives, so my nieces and nephews didn't exist, and both my sisters had a drastic personality change. So I came back to fix it, but Dorian got away. Really, I'm just trying to fix the timeline, and it's spiraled way out of hand." She bit down on her jacket as Makane popped the shoulder bone in place, or rather what was left of it.

"What happened to make you need to fix things?" Silence, and then...

"Kelly died. So he wasn't there, so stop a tragedy. I-If he had been there, he could have proven the book was fake!" Adelina started crying, "It was fake, Jared! Why didn't you understand?! _I begged you to listen to me!_" Makane quickly realized Adelina had been transported to the past...or the future? Time travel was weird. She wasn't mentally here right now. And maybe that was a good thing, as she led the crying girl to Mercy.

She did feel bad because the motivation behind Adelina's efforts was understandable. Didn't mean she had made the best impression, and the pyromancer's actions towards Dorian had only strengthened the theory of them being villains. But hell, they were both trying to save Kelly. She knew Adelina could be trying to save her own skin and was lying, but seeing as the illusionist was trapped in memories by the looks of it, and traumatic ones, she gave the girl the benefit of the doubt.

Mercy turned from where she was trying to get Chandra to drink a pain killer, "Huh? What happened?"

Adelina looked up, and Makane wondered if she was going to tell, but instead, she said, "Let's just say Dorian didn't go down without a fight. And Makane and I have come to a truce." Makane's eyes widened when she saw Macy looked scared in the corner, not quite hearing that thing about a truce, not that she'd be complaining. She walked over subtly,

"Macy, what the hell?!" She whisper-yelled, "I thought you were getting Dorian out of here." Macy sucked in a breath,

"Mara caught us. She took Dorian from us before we could say anything. Didn't even get a chance to get him healed. That was maybe ten minutes ago. It's probably too late."

"Too late, my ass. I'll be back." She ran off, hoping that she wasn't too late.

Bursting through the door, Regina turned to her, looking rather pleased with herself, and that was never a good thing.

"Ah, Makane, what perfect timing. The ritual is complete, so can you take him to Mercy for healing and then to his home. If we're lucky, he will think any moments of awareness were a nightmare." She hoisted the limp boy up, and he'd lost even more blood, rendering his previously tan skin nearly transparent.

Mara placed Dorian in Makane's arms, "Yeah, Makane. Aren't you going to do it?" Makane growled,

"If you're trying to say something, we can take this outside." Mara looked her up and down, golden eyes twinkling with malice. But of course, that was all Mara was; her whole body was made of pure malice.

"Nothing, Makane. Just do your job." Makane sighed, taking Dorian to Mercy for quick healing of his back, and then sadly walked to Dorian's apartment, only to see there were people in the square, saying that Dorian was more dangerous than White Sparrow could handle. She usually left the villains alive, so they had to take matters into their own hands and kill Dorian.

That had Makane going in a different direction. Quickly. Managing to adjust Dorian's position in such a way to make it look like she was carrying a wasted guy instead of an unconscious one.

She was glad to have some money. And the thing was, Adelina seemed to just need Dorian to stay out of Kelly's life, which was fine. She could work with that, using the invisibility powder she'd swiped from Mercy's room, and sneaking into the airport and managing to maneuver her way to a flight to Russia. She gave him a backpack with a letter in it, explaining the situation about him needing to stay away from New York for his own sake. She also gave him enough money to get a temporary residence and the whereabouts of a sorcerer who might be able to break the corruption curse.

While she didn't know Dorian personally, she was not going to let an innocent suffer a fate like this, especially if all he needed was to stay away, which was perfectly reasonable. And he was Kelly's friend, which meant he could be trusted. And when the inevitable questions were asked, she could lie and say she dropped him off, but he must have run.

"Best of luck, Dorian." She said, watching the plane take off, unaware of its extra passenger, "I'll be rooting for you."

She walked back to the manor, where Regina was waiting for her with Chandra and Adelina,

"Well? Has my little weapon been returned?" Regina asked, and Makane sighed, making her face emotionless,

"He's gone."

"_What_?!" All three asked, and she shrugged,

"Slimy bastard managed to get away and hide in a plane at the airport. I was stopped by security and lost sight of him. But seeing as the entirety of the city knows about his powers and wants to kill him, I can't say I blame the kid."

Regina crossed her arms, "We must locate him immediately, but his magical signature is so young, and the spell is only just in place. How are we going to locate him? For all we know, he could have slipped into the Lanes Between. And what good is he if he's not doing my dirty work?"

Makane noticed Adelina smirk a little bit, wincing at her arm in a sling, "Hey, Mara, there's a small island in Africa housing one of the Negojre stones. Maybe he went there?" Mara nodded,

"I'll leave immediately." She vanished in a puff of smoke. Regina whirled around to face Adelina,

"You're telling me there's a stone there?" Adelina shrugged,

"There's one on every continent. My third least favorite being's stone is in Russia in an impossible death trap." Regina cursed,

"Well, Dorian has the stone's power. If we can get him to the tree, his unstable power should be enough to open one of the locks so _she_ can get free."

At this point, Makane had left the room and was listening in alongside Maki.

"She?" Chandra asked, and Makane saw Adelina had gone pale, swaying dangerously.

"Y-You mean Iku. You want to free her from the tree...that's why you wanted Dorian, isn't it?"

"You are correct. Kelly got half the stone's power, so clearly, those kids know where it is. And once I get Dorian, it will only be a matter of time before those two find each other again."

Makane's eyes widened, "Shit." So maybe Adelina was right. If Kelly and Dorian were just going to find each other again.

Maya appeared next to her out of nowhere, "I heard yaoi!"

"Maya, what are you doing here?!" Adelina snapped, pointing her finger accusingly at Maya, thankfully only seeing Maya instead of Makane and Maki.

But Regina sent Adelina a look, and Makane had to hide a choked scream; Maki too.

Kelly was the only one to have that mannerism. The rest just groaned, but the way Adelina did that, with the same tone and gestures, was identical to Kelly.

Regina's grin became cruel, "Adelina, you have never told me your surname. By any chance...is it Carpenter?" She bent down and held Adelina's face, her nails cutting into the girl's skin.

Chandra's hair became a white-hot flame, and Regina had her answer, "Girls!" She shouted through the halls, "Kill them."

Adelina growled, "What makes you think I'm a Carpenter? Similar mannerisms? Hate to break it too you, but Kelly doesn't have that shit patented." Makane noticed the girl was twitching, and even Chandra seemed scared. Whatever had just happened, Kelly's daughter had snapped. And _that_ was a scary thought if Makane had ever heard one.

"Joselyn," Chandra warned, "I can handle this. Control yourself."

"You want me to show you who I am?" Adelina, Joselyn apparently, laughed in a way unbefitting her, "Fine. I'll show you the monster I really am." She extended her arms, clenched her fists, and pulled her fists to her chest, her silver eye turning black and glowing with even more malice than Mara. Twelve witches screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

Makane grabbed Macy, Molara, and Maki, and ran, getting them out of there. At least now there really was proof Chandra and Joselyn were on their side. But that meant she had nearly murdered Kelly's daughter, which wasn't right.

Once they were about a mile away, Makane set her three younger sisters down, and Macy shuddered,

"Damn. Looks like she got Kelly's temper too."

"Difficult to set off but anyone who did has hell to pay?" Maki wondered, then nodded, "Yeah. That's accurate. Maybe I shouldn't have let Mira try killing Chandra with a shot put ball falling from a bookcase."

"Or the seesaw trick." Molara added, "But it's hilarious to me that a seesaw of all things was what nearly succeeded." Makane snapped a couple times,

"Guys, we have a big problem. I didn't realize Kelly and Dorian will find each other, so I sent him to Russia. Apparently the fate of Kelly and his family depends on Dorian not being a part of their lives for whatever reason."

"So we have to kill him?" Maki asked, "I thought you were the one against killing an innocent."

"I am. And I never said we were going to kill him. But we do have to stop Kelly, mother, and the New Yorkers from finding him."

"So like...locking him in a tower?" Macy offered. Everyone looked to her judgingly, but Makane shrugged,

"I mean, he'll probably just escape." She said, "But that plan is better than nothing."

"How exactly are we gonna get to Russia?" Molara asked, "I've got plant power, Macy's a cytomancer, Maki's an alchemist and poison expert, and Makane is death on the battlefield. None of us summon big ass birds or anything."

"Actually," Maki pulled out a glowing orb and drank the contents, "I have this dragon summoning stuff, using the blood of a dragonlord."

Macy raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Better question is where you found the blood of a dragonlord."

"And how did you make a seesaw deadly?" Maki snapped as a dragon flew down, "We've all seen and done weird shit. Hop on."

"Are you sure it's not gonna kill us?" Molara asked, earning a shrug from Maki,

"Lara, don't worry about it. The dragon is certainly safer than being around mother when she's in a mood." Makane hopped on,

"Alright, this is going to be weird. But off to Russia we go while riding a fucking dragon!"

Macy helped Molara on, and grumbled, "If I die because of you three, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you in hell."

And thus, the four rebel witches were off on an adventure.

"So..." Molara asked, "Was anybody smart enough to pack food?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Connected **

"When is he going to wake up?" Harrison asked, looking upon Kelly's comatose form. They had tried everything they could think of, but Kelly was just as lifeless had he had been while dead, except this time he was breathing. At least he didn't need to be hooked up to machines this time. He looked to be in some sort of fairy tale style sleep.

"No clue. Adelina didn't tell me anything." Amelia replied, looking at Kelly as well, who had his hands folded over his stomach, "And then we have the issue of people hunting for Dorian, who is lord knows where."

"Well...we could always ask Tazri to watch him."

"What if Kels flips out and starts using crazy green fire like Dorian did?"

"I don't think he will," Jaay assured, "I'm pretty sure Dorian got that fire, and Kelly didn't. The real issue is needing to find him."

"Where could he have even gone?" Amelia asked, "I saw him, and he was not in good condition. He wouldn't have gone far."

They heard the television was on and turned to it, and once they saw what was on it, Harrison turned,

"I think we just got our first lead."

OoOoO

When Dorian woke up, it was to a hand, gently shaking him. He blinked a couple times, realizing his back didn't hurt anymore. Odd. The last thing he remembered was...

He jolted up as he remembered his mother and running into the woods. After that, it grew very fuzzy, and then everything went black.

The effort of shooting upright caused a burning feeling in his heart, and he had to lay back down, small twinkling lights dancing in his vision.

"Hey, are you alright?" Dorian managed to sit up after a moment, and his vision cleared enough that he could see a...flight attendant? "You screamed."

"I did...where am I?"

"Your flight to Russia?" The attendant asked, his brow furrowing, "Are you feeling well?"

"No. But no...flight to Russia? That's not right. I'm not supposed to be on a flight." He frowned when he saw a backpack next to him, and he was in some sort of pod-like seat would have in first class for a long flight. He looked through his bag, "See, no boarding pass. I have no idea how I got here." He started hyperventilating, "How long have we been in the air?!"

"About eleven hours. You've been sleeping, seeming to have a nightmare, but some other passengers started complaining when you cried out."

"W-What? I-I'm not..." he started crying, terrified beyond reason, "I'm not supposed to be here, I-I'm supposed to be..." he started freaking out even more as he once again burst into those chartreuse flames. He ran to the front of the plane, opening one of the doors,

"Stop!" Another flight attendant ordered, "You're going to kill us all!"

"I'm going to kill you all if I don't jump!" He shouted, looking at his backpack and pocketing the note he saw in it. He also noticed that under his clothes was the outfit he used as a superhero, which stretched with him. He was thankful for that, as he tossed his backpack to one attendant and jumped out the plane door. He saw the plane was starting to crash, so he grabbed onto the wings and used the rest of his body like a parachute. This right here was why having a stretching superpower came in handy.

Someone must have healed his back entirely because he didn't feel any ripping of flesh while doing this. It was freezing, and holding onto plane wings hurt like a bitch, and he was glad for being more durable than most.

It was an unknown amount of time later that they landed in the middle of...somewhere. At least the plane landed in the water, and the passengers got on the rafts. Dorian was glad his suit was waterproof, that way, that note in his bag was protected. And the cold air had already put out the flames surrounded him.

He winced at the freezing water and swam to help people with the rafts, wishing he didn't have the mask. So at least a hundred people now knew his identity. Lovely. But it was either this, or they all die, so the sacrifice didn't seem that big a deal.

"W-What the hell just happened?!" Someone asked, and Dorian sighed,

"I...have been having some trouble with my powers since they got one hell of an unexpected upgrade. Sorry guys..." he then gasped as the burning feeling in his heart increased tremendously, and he fell to his knees.

"There's a village over there," someone said, but Dorian couldn't place the voice through the pain.

He dully heard someone trying to assure him that things would be okay, but seeing as he had pushed his body to its limit—something he didn't know he had until just now, and would typically be fascinated to learn it. He could tell he could have stretched more, but wouldn't have been able to hold it for long before snapping back—he was exhausted. Not to mention still confused and terrified. But he was soaked enough that he felt he wasn't in danger of flaring up again.

Dawn was breaking over the mountains, and Dorian noticed the colorful streaks in his hair were acting like a light. Harrison would have a field day with this. That was, of course, assuming they'd get to wherever the destination had been, and then he'd be flying back to New York. But he knew he'd probably need to call Harrison for a ride in the private jet since it wasn't like someone who had somehow tossed onto a plane had any money on them.

It was a blur for some time, maybe because his heart hurt excruciatingly, and it was getting hard to think.

When he regained awareness, the night was falling, and a person was standing above him,

"You're finally awake," the stranger said, with a heavy accent that Dorian couldn't place since he had no idea where he was.

"Yeah...what happened? Where am I?"

"Your plane crashed into the water, and the passengers brought you and some other injured to us, unconscious. You were the one in need of the most help due to your heart. I found this note in your pocket, and I think you'll know better than I what it means."

Dorian looked at the note, finally taking the time to read it. The handwriting was messy, but he had read worse,

_Dorian,_

_Please don't freak out, because you're probably reading this on a flight to Russia and feeling severe chest pains. I don't have much time to write this, so let me cut to the chase. _

_You're cursed. The chest pains are a corruption spell that is going to eventually turn you into a homicidal psycho. There's supposed to be some sort of mage in Russia who might be able to break the enchantment. Also, the fate of the universe is relying on you staying far away from Kelly, Harrison, and Amelia for the next twenty-ish years. And seeing as the whole of New York wants to kill you, I would say avoiding there is also a smart choice._

_In your bag is some food, euros, and a fake ID. Sorry I couldn't get more. The best I could do was smuggle you onto first class._

_One piece of advice since you clearly have power: fear will be your enemy until you get this under control. Just repeat it to yourself, you will not be afraid._

_Sorry and good luck,_

_MB_

Dorian stared at the letter in abject horror as his whole world fell apart.

The village healer, at least he assumed that was who the man was, looked at him, "Is it encrypted or something?"

"No...I don't think so." Dorian said, getting up and noticing he was just in some boxers. His suit was folded neatly in the corner.

Getting a look in the mirror—first of all, he looked like he'd been to hell and back—and his heart was visible even under layers of flesh, and it was entirely black, most likely the culprit of the visibility.

He went pale as a sheet, staggering backward until he grabbed his suit. He was able to control his breathing enough to put it on, and turned to the man,

"W-Where exactly am I?"

"Norway. Specifically the town of Undredal. Home to approximately 100 residents and 500 goats." He held out a small plate, "Cheese and sausage?" Dorian smiled gratefully, letting his relief at the kindness he was given calm his raging emotions. As his parents had taught him, conceal, don't feel. This tactic had been to prevent him from using his powers while throwing tantrums as a toddler, but now it would come in handy when his emotions were the trigger for his magic.

"Thank you for your kindness. I-Is it alright if I take some for the road? I really need to get away from civilization."

"Does your glowing hair have anything to do with the reason?" Dorian looked at a strand of glowing hair,

"Yeah. I can't stay here, because I don't want to endanger you or anyone else here." The man looked at him worriedly,

"With your condition, you shouldn't be alone. Do you have heart complications?"

"I...don't really know. All I know is I'm a danger to everyone." He looked out the window of the small house, not seeing the others, "Where are the others?"

"They left on a boat about three hours ago. One of the people said you spontaneously combust, and it wasn't safe to touch you. And another said you were a stowaway on the flight. But it looks like you weren't a willing stowaway according to the note, so I think they should have prioritized getting you back to your parents."

"I don't have parents." Dorian said, looking at the floor, "My mother passed on yesterday...or maybe the day before, I've spent a good chunk of time coming in and out of consciousness. And my father isn't going to want anything to do with me." He started hyperventilating again and was shaking, "I can't stay here anymore."

The man sighed, "I'll pack you some things for the trip. But you will always be welcome here. If you come back, ask for Oliver, and I'll come immediately."

"Alright...thank you, Oliver," he took the backpack now full of supplies, "I am eternally grateful." Oliver put a winter coat on him, and Dorian smiled, walking in the direction of the mountains. Where better to be alone than among the beauty of this freezing nature. Well, that wasn't accurate. If he had to guess, it was probably forty degrees Fahrenheit outside, which was typical for Norway in late September. Or was it early October?

Before leaving, he asked what day it was, and was told it was October 14th, which was _way_ off from what he knew. Last he'd known, it was September 30th.

And then, he was off. He pulled his new coat tight around him, before realizing the cold wasn't bothering him at all. It was like there was a small flame deep within him, keeping him warm.

"What have I done?" He asked himself, thinking about the last...what was probably a couple days, and the disasters he had caused.

"What you're not supposed to do," a voice said, unwelcome and coming from the back of his mind, "What is wrong with you?"

The look on his mother's face when she had been hit by his flames... So much shock and betrayal.

_"You try to be good. But you fail."_

"Fear will be your enemy, and death it's consequence," Dorian said to himself, taking deep breaths of frigid air, rereading the note, "I've caused pain, fear..." he thought about the curse, turning to his inner voice for guidance, "Is the thing they see... the thing I'm going to become?" He put a hand over his heart, fighting back the tears. Even if there was someone who could help in Russia, he was stranded here in Norway with nowhere to go.

"A monster... are they right? Nowhere to go but on a rampage?"

The inner voice didn't respond. But this just led to Dorian thinking some more and finding himself noticing that the farther he went into the mountains, he felt a little more carefree. That wasn't saying much, though.

_What do I do? No time for crying now. I'm cursed and have out of control magic. Do I keep on running? How far do I have to go? And would that take the flame away or only make it grow? Is everyone in danger as long as I'm alive?_

The more he continued to think about it, he realized that if he was cursed and had no way to find a cure, everyone really was in danger as long as he lived.

His blackened heart clenched. He didn't want to die, but was that really the only choice he had?

_Do I kill the monster?_

He looked up at the sky, the sun long since set, and the stars twinkling. He could even see the Aurora Borealis, and Norway was supposed to be the ideal place to see it, so this was a once in a lifetime chance. If he were to die right now, that would be okay.

"Father, you know what's best for me. If I die, will everyone be safe?" He looked away from the beautiful sky, "I mean...why wouldn't they be? I'll do all that I can to make things right."

He looked over the edge, debating if it would be worth it to just jump into the water and drown.

If you haven't been on the edge of suicide before, you might not know this important detail: there's a particular feeling you get, the last chance to turn back. One final hurdle. To overcome every single positive emotion you've ever had. The last opportunity to weigh your life and decide it isn't worth living.

And even in those final moments, there's a small part of you that wants to keep going. So before you can pull the trigger, or jump, or go just a little deeper with that knife, there's something you need to do. You need to kill that flicker of hope. You remind yourself there's no turning back now and there's only one way forward, and you have no other option than to do it now so force yourself to take the shot and be free because the world isn't worth living in and you aren't even worth it because you'll just ruin everything. Give up on your own life. And then, you bite the bullet.

He tossed his backpack away and jumped.

Plunging into the water, Dorian gasped at how icy the water was, which made him choke on it.

He had to consciously fight his survival instincts that were trying to swim to the surface.

_"What are you doing?!"_ The voice screamed at him, _"You're going to die!"_

_That's the point!_

Dorian had held his breath in a pool before, and this wasn't like that. This is like having a gun to his head and being told not to let his heartbeat. Of course, it would beat. And just like the heart must go on, his lungs would inhale, whether it was air or frigid water.

His head was pounding, every cell in his body screaming for oxygen. He kept fighting to stay below the surface until it felt like his head was about to explode. He had to take a breath. So he did. For some reason, it didn't hurt like he'd thought it would, it was almost peaceful actually. He began to fall further and further into the darkness until it threatened to swallow him whole.

At the moment, he knew he was already dead. In moments he would float like seaweed, nothing more than flesh and bones ready to decay in the currents.

He closed his eyes, ready to embrace a watery grave...

And then, a light. A flicker of chartreuse light and a spirit of some sort flew at him, glowing dimly. It cupped his face and pressed their foreheads together and gripping his hands. This somehow gave Dorian enough lifeforce to realize he was face to face with some ghost-like version of Kelly. Sapphire eyes met silver and Kelly smiled softly, lovingly almost,

"Dorian, you have to keep fighting for me. I'll find you, I promise. I'll always find you."

"H-How..." he gasped as he realized he could breathe. Looking down, a silver fishtail was in the place of his legs, "Wha—?!"

"Come on, Dorian," Kelly held his hands, guiding him to the surface. Once they broke free of the water, the tail was replaced with wings, and Dorian found himself soaked to the bone, but alive and sitting on the mountain right next to his backpack.

"Kelly? Are you a ghost?"

"Not quite," was the answer he got, as well as hands running through his hair, hitting a spot that had the flames acting up again, drying him off. But one look into Kelly's shining eyes was enough to calm him down, and the fire died down.

"Don't you understand? I need to die while I'm still sane." Kelly softened,

"Dorian, you need to hang on for me. Find shelter, and I will come to get you. We'll find a way to fix this."

"You don't understand! I _need_ to do this! For your sake and for Harry and Ami."

Kelly sighed, holding Dorian's hands to his chest, "Please. Everything will be alright, you just need to hang on a little longer."

"Fine." He relented, "A little longer," he actually only meant a couple days, but if he didn't kill himself, the pain in his chest might do him over.

Kelly smiled, placing a hand over Dorian's heart, making the pain release its iron grip, "Good," he vanished, turning to sparkles.

Dorian felt his hand go to where Kelly's had been placed, as though he could feel it. A blush spread on his cheeks as he realized that when Kelly was there, he had been in control, he felt secure when Kelly was around.

"Shit." He muttered. But he felt he had to stay alive for at least a couple days. If not for himself, than to keep his promise to Kelly. "He forgives me and my curse?" That blush intensified, and he had to keep walking to ignore that feeling.

It was maybe an hour before he found a small abandoned home that he decided to set up shop in.

It wasn't much, but it was certainly better than nothing.

Once, he used his new powers to get the bugs out of the shack—because he most certainly didn't want anything crawling on him in his sleep—he let himself enjoy some of that cheese and sausage that Oliver gave him.

His brain seemed to have forgotten that he had tried to kill himself, instead deciding to focus entirely on Kelly and that fantastic feeling when the other was around.

_"Dorian, you have to keep fighting for me. I'll find you, I promise. I'll always find you."_

That promise calmed him enough that he found himself lulled into a dreamless sleep.

...

Back in New York, Kelly jolted awake.

"I know where he is."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: New Arrangements **

"How exactly do you know Dorian is not only in the middle of nowhere but also trying to kill himself?" Amelia asked, but her tone suggested she already knew the answer.

Kelly shrugged, coughing, "It's just... a feeling. Like I need to find him. I can't really describe it. Don't tell Maya about this."

"That's a promise. Besides, Dorian's our friend. We do need to find him. The better question is how he ended up in Norway."

"Do we need to know?" Harrison asked, "It's Dorian we're talking about. He's done some weird shit before. Need I remind you this is the same guy who didn't want to participate in gym, so he sat on the air duct the whole time and scared the daylights out of our teacher?"

"I always wondered how he did that..." Kelly mused, "Him having a superpower makes so much sense. And he even told people he had power! God, how did nobody see it?!"

Amelia shrugged, "The best way to deceive someone is telling them the truth." Harrison nodded,

"Sounds like a tactic Dorian would use. So... am I calling for the private jet?" Nods all around, and Harrison got on the phone.

When they went out onto the roof, Tazri stopped them,

"What are you doing?"

"Going to Norway because Dorian did something stupid." Harrison deadpanned in such a way that he almost sounded sarcastic. Tazri blinked a few times, as though trying to figure out if he was kidding or not.

"You are aware the majority of NYC wants Dorian dead, right? Also, when did Kelly wake up?"

"I woke up maybe a half-hour ago." Kelly replied, "Though I was dead like a month ago, so I should have known I wouldn't get away from that easily." He still had nightmares from his thirteen-hour field trip to Cradh's torture realm. There are things mortals cannot unsee, and that was one of them.

New goal in life: don't be a planeswalker. _Ever_. He felt quite bad for Chandra and Adelina, seeing as they were planeswalkers. And from what he'd seen, odds of not being tortured were high. And how was he supposed to know what Cradh's standards were? You might have to be a goddamn saint!

Speaking of which, Chandra appeared out of nowhere, carrying an unconscious Adelina in her arms. She and Harrison glared at each other for a moment, before Kelly snapped back from the initial shock of her presence, and took Adelina from her.

"What happened?"

"Uh...Regina found out something about Adelina that turned her against us. She...lost her temper to an extreme, and her heart gave out during her murder spree. I had to take her to a healer to make sure she'd live because I'm pretty sure a heart attack was the only thing that stopped her."

"Well, fucking hell," Harrison mused, "Get her in the jet. I assume we need to go find Dorian too. He's in Norway for some reason."

"He got away from Makane or something." She shrugged and put Adelina in the jet, and Harrison wrapped her in blankets and pulled out machines. He also had a fire extinguisher pointed at Chandra at all times.

Amelia was the one to do the piloting since she actually knew how to fly a jet.

Kelly was pacing nervously, very much confused at the connection he could feel with Dorian. Deciding to test it out, he called down that bond,

_"Hey, Dorian?"_

He got a response moments later in the form of anguished screaming.

_"You okay?"_

No response.

"Fuck." He muttered. Chandra frowned,

"What?"

"I tried talking to him, and he was just shrieking."

"That's...not good."

"Agreed." Adelina sat up, wincing, "Ow." Chandra looked to her worriedly,

"Ade, are you...you?" Adelina rubbed her eyes,

"Yeah. I'm guessing I blacked out again and killed some bitches." Chandra nodded,

"I'd say that if I was putting it lightly. You went full villain mode on me, then had a heart attack."

"Oh, also, New York is on fire," Harrison said casually, pointing below, where basically the entire city was covered in chartreuse flames.

"Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw," Adelina said, before putting a hand to her mouth, "Huh. Didn't think my sister rubbed off on me so much." Kelly sent her an odd look,

"Is that even doable? The thing with the chainsaw." Harrison then pulled a chainsaw out of nowhere,

"For science! Chandra, hold still!"

Chandra almost gave herself whiplash as she turned in Harrison's direction, "Wait, what the hell?!" Harrison grinned mischievously, lowering the chainsaw,

"Kidding." His expression sobered, "But seriously, I will experiment on you for science if you fuck with my friends." He revealed the death ray, "Now can we just go get Dorian? I know my house will be fine since that place is like Fort Knox, but the rest of New York is kinda screwed."

Amelia shouted from the front, "Okay! Kels, can you give me some Dorian-coordinates?"

"Uh...I guess. He's kinda in the middle of nowhere."

The flight went on for a while until Kelly was able to pinpoint a small town close enough to where he could sense Dorian.

"So...any clue where Dorian is?" Amelia asked. Kelly nodded a bit, but was stopped from speaking by a middle-aged man grabbing his hand,

"Excuse me, did you say Dorian?" The man let go of Kelly's hand, "He went up the mountain a couple days ago, something about being dangerous." Chandra was already running in the direction the man had pointed, needing to find Dorian quickly. Adelina followed her.

Harrison watched them go, as though debating following them, but decided Dorian could take care of himself if needed, and they required more info,

"We're nowhere near an airport. How did Dorian get here?" Kelly asked. The man brought them into his home,

"I'm Oliver. Dorian arrived here when his plane crashed. The other survivors brought him to me, unconscious. His heart was completely black. A note he had in his pocket said he was cursed or something. He read the letter and then ran off into the mountains."

"Crap. Dorian knows." Amelia muttered, "I'm assuming Makane told him. Well, we gotta go find him now before his powers wipe out New York." She looked to a perplexed Oliver, "When did he leave?"

"About two days ago. I gave Dorian food, and if he made good time, he would be quite a distance from here." Kelly nodded,

"Thank you. I'll find him."

"Make sure he's okay," Oliver said softly, "He seems like a troubled young man."

"You have no idea..." Kelly sighed, getting up to leave.

...

"What do you mean the plane crashed!?" Maki shrieked at the official in Russia. They had arrived in Moscow, spent an hour hiding the dragon, and now they were learning Dorian's plane had crashed.

"The plane went down about two days ago." The official said, "We're trying to locate it, but our tracker seems to have been destroyed. There is no current way to find them. Do you have family on the plane?"

Makane nodded, "A good friend of the family was on there." She gestured to her sisters, "Come on, we need to go find him." They left, and Macy panicked,

"Oh, this is bad! This is bad! He could be anywhere! He could be dead!"

"Calm down!" Molara commanded of them all, "We don't know he's dead. We've seen what he's capable of, so I am pretty sure he's alive. But let's scry to be sure."

And so they got a hotel room and did just that. Thankfully, Makane had had enough foresight to take a small lock of Dorian's hair, in case they ever needed to find him. He was located in Norway.

"So that narrows down which country he's in. But Norway is roughly the same size as California, so this still doesn't tell us where exactly he is. Meaning we need to go to Norway, get a map, and try again."

Maki sighed, downing another shot of her potion, "I'll get the dragon." She left, and Molara walked over to where Makane was sitting at the window, looking at the city below, sighing,

"Makane? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just remembered we still have the Recrusent Sigil in our names, tracking us. Fortunately, we can just tell mother we're looking for Dorian. The best way to deceive someone is telling the truth, I guess. But I feel bad for the kid. I sent him here because there are some mages here that might be able to break the curse. But if our mother finds him, she will make sure he never gets the chance."

"Well...I don't know what we're gonna do about that. But making sure he's back in civilization is our main priority."

"You're right, I guess." Makane sighed, "This whole thing sucks."

OoOoO

Dorian had been sitting in his little shelter when he heard a firm knock on the door.

"Dorian? Are you in there?" An unfamiliar voice called for him. He froze, hiding a bit, unsure of who it was. He pulled out his scythe and activated it before freezing as he realized what he was about to do. He shuddered, but still had the scythe activated as a means of self-defense.

The door burst open, and that redhead that burned him stormed in. Rage filled him at how she threw him into the mess and was a cause of this curse, and he attacked her, cutting her hand off with no effort at all before she burst into white-hot flames, to which he was covered in chartreuse flames.

"Get away from me!" He shrieked, but the redhead was looking at where her hand used to be, and then at his weapon that cut through her armor like wet tissue paper.

But then he paused. This woman clearly hated his guts, and he found himself in her mind, and she mentioned something about "her" being dead at his hand. Who was that person? His mother? Because that was the only person, he had killed—to his knowledge. But at least he now knew the redhead's name.

"You want to kill me." He lowered his weapon before dropping it altogether. He spread his arms, "Do it then. Just make it quick."

Chandra furrowed her brow in confusion, before she walked up to him, happy to oblige. Then she hesitated, "You're quick to surrender."

"I'm dangerous. Everyone's in danger as long as I'm alive. You know what I just did to you, and it's only been two days!" He clutched his head, "I'm going mad, I know it. For the good of the world, _please_. I don't want to be a murderer or a monster." He started crying, "I would rather die as me than live as someone else." He got on his knees, knowing full well he was spitting on his mother's grave doing so,

_"You don't bow to anyone, Dorian!"_

"P-Please..."

He could feel the anger radiating off Chandra, felt the flames over her body, and her flaming hand inches away from lighting him ablaze. He closed his eyes and shed a tear, bracing himself for the inevitable momentary agony. Might as well get used to it, because he was going to hell for sure.

He then heard Chandra cry out in anguish, and the flames died down as she started sobbing, "I-I _can't_."

He got up, grabbing her shoulders, "And why not? You know how dangerous I am, especially since you're from the future. I can see your memories!"

_A place overrun with death, a bloody war going on. People and demons dying left and right. A being glowing with at least six different colorful lights fighting alongside some guy against what looked to be a demon. Chandra battling with two others and Joselyn against Dorian himself and a woman with dark hair and glowing red eyes, who cut down one of the women like she was nothing at all. The pyromancer screamed in despair—_

He snapped back to reality as Chandra forced him out of her mind, and she seemed to have used her fire to close up the bloody wound he had given her. She shook him with the only hand,

"Don't you get it?! The very fabric of the reality I know will unravel if you die now! Wanting to die now is just selfish!" He backed up with a shocked expression, but she wasn't done, pinning him against the wall and he had to fight with every ounce of his body to prevent his powers from killing her, "You think I don't want to kill you after what you did?! I do! But you need to stay alive!"

"So you're asking me to become the very thing I fight against just for the sake of what!? It's clear that woman who got killed...what's her name? But you want her back. That's the reason you joined Joselyn in this quest." He gained a little confidence, and he was the one backing her into a corner, "And your friend Gideon? Did I kill him too, I wonder. So why would you want me alive when I am responsible for the death of at least one. Come on, kill me, you know you want to." Clearly, if asking her to kill him didn't work, he had no choice but to goad her into losing her temper and murder him.

What he did not expect, however, was for her to scream and fall limp to the ground.

He also didn't expect Joselyn to be standing behind the pyromancer in such a way that implied she was the reason for the sudden collapse.

And then, for a split second, he saw hundreds of glowing strings attached to Chandra, and they were in Joselyn's hands.

The girl looked up, and her silver eye was black. She was shaking.

"I can't risk her killing you," she said slowly, her voice like that of a predator stalking its prey, yet still smooth. It was eerie, her behavior as she slowly walked towards him, moving her friend out of the way like she was no more than a piece of useless furniture.

Dorian held his ground, but that resolve quickly dwindled, and he found himself grabbing the scythe off the ground.

Joselyn chuckled, "You really think that weapon of yours can take me down?" She then had him pinned to the ground. He maneuvered out from under her, but then felt his entire body go numb and collapsed. Joselyn coughed up some blood but managed to stand over him.

He looked at her through half-lidded eyes, "Illusionist, huh? Are you some sort of superhero? Is that your name?" Joselyn then shifted into a much darker version of herself, her hair turning black and her skin becoming ashen. Her black trench coat became a robe, and the hood kept her face in shadow.

"Actually, the name's Muerte." She went to attack him, but he could sense she wasn't trying to kill him, just knock him out and take him back to New York, so he launched himself at the edge of the mountain in an attempt to get away and figure out what to do.

He had to snap her out of it.

_"Kill her,"_ a dark voice in the back of his head suggested, and he shook it off. But he did get an idea, easily able to invade her mind and get a feel for who he was dealing with. He gasped when he saw Kelly in her memories, but the main thing he kept coming up on:

A man named Jared and a man named Gideon.

Deciding Gideon would be the best course of action since he had gotten a better feel for the planeswalker using Chandra's memories, he used his mind powers to create an illusion of Gideon.

"Joselyn!" He hid on a ledge, just barely concealed from view, but the projection he was forcing into Joselyn's mind, he could control and see-through, "Snap out of it! This isn't you."

Muerte's eyes widened as Dorian forced himself into her head, making her change back to Joselyn, her eye returning to glowing silver instead of that soulless black, "G-Gideon?"

The illusion vanished because Dorian couldn't hold it anymore, having done that without training. He then realized he had hit his head in his escape attempt, and he felt pain like nothing he had ever felt before. It wasn't long before oblivion claimed him.

...

"Adelina!" Kelly called. They'd been traveling for two days, with Chandra and Adelina being maybe an hour ahead of them. But finally, they caught up. Amelia had been flying overhead, trying to see if she could get a feel for where Dorian was from bird's eye view.

Kelly was also weighed down since Harrison was not the athletic type, plus his illness that already made breathing difficult. So he was carrying a weakened Harrison on his back.

Adelina turned, from where she had fallen to her knees and seemed to have been crying. Chandra was a little dazed, and Kelly noticed she was missing a hand, no doubt caused by Dorian's scythe.

"I-I'm sorry." She wept, "I'm sorry, Gideon..." she hugged herself a little and continued to cry, "I can't take it anymore!"

Kelly set Harrison down gently against some rocks and helped Harry use his breathing treatment. His vest was back in the plane, so this was the longest he'd ever gone without using it. Once they found Dorian, AMelia would have to immediately grab him and fly back to the plane to make sure he wasn't killed by the crap in his lungs. Hopefully, him bouncing on Kelly's back and worked decently enough for the time being.

Harrison smiled at him, "I'm okay..." he coughed, coming from deep in his lungs, disproving his statement. Amelia landed, her face displaying worry. Kelly sighed,

"Mia, take him back. I'll find Dorian." Amelia nodded, but Harrison protested,

"No...what if he needs help?" Kelly shrugged,

"I'll think of something. Mia, can I borrow the amulet? You already have speed without it." Amelia nodded and handed the Blue Jay amulet to Kelly, who put it on. He turned to Adelina, who was still crying. Chandra tried to comfort her, but that seemed to make it worse.

"Dorian?!" He called, looking into the icy depths of the water, praying Dorian hadn't fallen or jumped down there. Maybe he would survive if he had, if that dream of his meant anything, but it was still not a risk he wanted to take, "Jaay, let's fly."

Blue Jay wore a white bodysuit with a cerulean line wrapping around him from his left leg to his chest. He also had a cerulean collar, forearm-length gloves, and legs starting at a point in the middle of his lower legs. On his face, he had a blue mask around his eyes with a white outline at the sides.

He jumped down the cliff face and looked for Dorian, finding him in a small nook just out of sight. He wasn't moving, and it was hard to tell if he was breathing or not.

He flew over to his other half, shaking him gently, "Dorian? Come on, don't be dead." He was breathing, thankfully, so Blue Jay scooped him into his arms and flew back up to Chandra and Adelina, "Dorian's not in good shape. I'm gonna take him back to the plane."

"D-Don't...not yet..." Adelina said, "He probably hit his head, so the quieter it is, the better it will be for him." Blue Jay nodded, grabbing the forgotten backpack Dorian had dropped and carried him further into the mountains, where there was this time a cabin instead of a shack. He knocked on the door and found the place was empty. Not abandoned like the last one, but the residents weren't home at the moment. That worked for now.

He pulled out some cheese from the backpack and sat Dorian up. He probably needed to eat.

Dorian woke up, but his movements were sluggish until he had curled into a ball, clutching his head and whimpering.

"Dorian?" He asked in a hushed whisper, "Did you hit your head?" Dorian nodded a little bit, but his movements suggested he was trying to cry. He detransformed and took his jacket off, wrapping it around Dorian, who leaned in. Kelly held up the cheese,

"Can you eat it?" Dorian shook his head, closing his eyes again.

"Hurts..." Kelly smiled sadly, removing his scarf and covering Dorian's eyes.

"Just get some sleep. We'll join the others when you feel better."

For a moment, he forgot entirely about New York being at the mercy of Dorian's flames. Maybe they'd put themselves out by now? He didn't know. What he did know was that Dorian's wellbeing somehow gained dominance in priority, and he had no idea why.

Suddenly, he grew sick with himself for sacrificing Dorian's life for his own family that didn't exist yet. It was cruel, so cruel. Perhaps his conscience would be eased if Dorian didn't know...no, that was worse. Then he'd be confused, and Dorian had a right to know what was happening to his own mind and soul.

He wept, holding Dorian close, "I'm sorry, Dorian. None of this is your fault. The blame is mine... I'm so sorry the punishment is yours."

It was maybe five or six hours by the time Dorian woke up again, blinking sluggishly. His eyes were bloodshot, and he cuddled up against Kelly's chest.

"You're so nice, Kels," he slurred, and Kelly was pretty sure his friend was not lucid in the slightest. He sighed,

"Less talking, more eating. You need it."

"Don't think I can keep anything down." Crap. He bit his lip,

"On a scale of one to ten with ten being the worst, how would you rate your pain?" Dorian pondered this for a moment before closing his eyes and drifting into a state between waking and sleeping.

"I'm gonna take that as a ten." He pondered his options, unsure of how to help before an idea popped into his head,

"Hey, Death? Can you hear me?" Death popped into existence,

"Yes?"

"Is there any way I can help Dorian?" He asked, gesturing to Dorian, "He's in a ton of pain, and I don't know what to do." Death looked down at Dorian, before sighing,

"You and he are two halves of a whole. So it stands to reason you could take half of his pain if you so desired. But I don't recommend that, because this won't kill him. He just needs a couple days with peace and quiet."

"Well, we don't have a couple days. How do I do it?"

"Slit both your palms and hold hands, I think. That's usually how it's done." Kelly was already slicing his palm open but was much more careful when doing it to Dorian.

"So do I just...will the pain out of him?"

"I guess. I'm kinda new at this."

Good news: that somehow worked.

Bad news: now Kelly's head hurt like a bitch. If this was half of what Dorian felt, he understood the lack of consciousness.

Death left, and Dorian blinked awake, "Kelly? What happened?"

"I don't really know. What I do know is that New York is covered in those weird green flames, so we need to get back ASAP. Also, most of the city wants to kill you, but Mia's gonna say it wasn't you, rather a changeling. So you and I are gonna work together to control these crazy powers."

He was more than a little confused when he saw a blush spread on Dorian's cheeks, "Y-You're gonna help me? Even if I'm..." he sat up, "No. I'm too dangerous. I need to get away, stay far away, and hopefully find a cave to curl up and die in before I—"

"Dorian!" Kelly grabbed Dorian's wrists, "You are not going to die. We're in a mess, a fucked-up disaster. But we can't give up now. Just because you're cursed, doesn't mean I'm gonna leave you to rot. Besides, I'm not going to let you die, so you need to learn to control this power we share."

Dorian had tears in his eyes, lip starting to quiver as he shook his head,

"You don't understand! It's already getting to my head. What if I hurt you? I don't see any other choice than to die now." Kelly sighed, transforming and carrying Dorian bridal style,

"Well, we'll discuss a course of action with others. Maybe we can find a way to break the curse..." that had been something on his mind for a while. Why couldn't he go save Dorian in the future? If Chandra and Adelina are trying to prevent a catastrophe Dorian caused, why not go save him once the girls are born and go from there?

Dorian wrapped his arms around Blue Jay's neck, holding on and smiling a bit. Was he going insane, or was Dorian blushing?

Dorian looked up, silver eyes twinkling with curiosity, "You really came all this way to find me?"

"Of course, I did. I promised that I would always find you. Mia says we're two halves of a whole, so it stands to reason we need to stick together."

"You're right, I suppose. But I don't want to hurt any of you. If I...disappear one day, I don't want you to look for me." Blue Jay bounced him a bit as he took off into a controlled flight,

"Dorian, for the love of God. I'm not ditching you. Get that through your head. Just...I don't know...look at the scenery while I carry you."

"Didn't know my white knight was here to carry me off into the sunset," Dorian joked, and Blue Jay chuckled,

"I guess that kind of is what I'm doing. It is much faster to fly though, so I'd say I can get there in six hours? Can you hold on that long?" In response, Dorian stretched his arms and tied them in a knot,

"Even if I can't, that knot certainly will."

"Good enough."

They got back in roughly seven hours and walked into the jet, where Harrison was installing a robot hand on Chandra.

"That should work for now, but this one's not fireproof. If you can melt bullets, that thing won't last. I'll have to work on another prototype—oh, hey! Kels!" Blue Jay detransformed, and Dorian undid the knot, sitting down and going straight to the bottle of Advil.

Chandra turned to Dorian, "What did you do to her? She's been practically catatonic all day."

"She tried to drag me back by force and transformed into some sort of Muerte being. So I created an illusion of some guy named Gideon to forcefully snap her out of it. I see now that might have been a little cruel, so...sorry."

"Woah!" Harrison brightened, "We need to run tests to see the limits of your powers and that stretching thing. How long have you been able to do that?"

Dorian relaxed visibly, and Kelly could tell, "My whole life. It was a real pain for my parents since they didn't know I could until they caught me when I was two. All they knew was I kept getting out of my bassinet somehow, or ended up on high ledges next to the cookies. My limit is gripping onto a plane and using my body as a parachute."

"Um...I'll need to run calculations, but that's impressive." Adelina looked Dorian over, finally coming back to reality,

"So, I'm leaving for a bit." She said, "To go find someone who can make sure Dorian doesn't do something stupid and get himself killed."

"Why does everyone assume I'm gonna do something stupid?!" Dorian snapped, "Need I remind you I am the top of our goddamn class other than Harrison!"

"Yes," Amelia said, "but as of now, you are distracted, scared, and we all know how well you work under stress." That was code for he didn't function very well, resorting to joking endlessly and tripping over his own feet. Or panicking about a French test when he missed a week of classes and very nearly getting hit by a car due to not paying attention. Or losing control of new superpowers and running into the woods in the middle of the night.

That was one perk of having superpowers. No matter how brilliant you were, nothing was boring. But the downside was you needed to be smart to survive.

Chandra turned to Adelina, "What do you want me to do?"

"Keep an eye on Dorian?" Dorian crossed his arms grumpily,

"I live alone most of the time. I can take care of myself." Amelia frowned,

"Dorian, that's not healthy."

...

"I'm fine." Dorian snapped, "And would much rather not have this woman who roasted my back and started this mess watching me." He glared at Chandra, who gestured to her robot hand, and he pulled out the scythe, ready to cut her head off, make her pay for what she had caused, "Leave me alone! If I'm going back, I'm not gonna be watched by _you_." He sneered, but Kelly's hand holding his made him freeze.

"Dorian, this is for your own good. She's just making sure you're safe, and Regina doesn't go after you."

"Well, let her come after me! I don't care! But I'll be caught dead before I spend any more time around this pyrobitch who makes the murderous urges act up. Unless y'all want me going evil faster, I suggest she get out of here unless she plans on killing me."

Chandra crossed her arms, sighing, "I can't kill you, no matter how much I want to. And you have no idea how much I want to see you burn at my hands."

"Or hand. Not exactly plural anymore." Harrison taunted because it was clear she still rubbed him the wrong way. Chandra growled at him,

"Do you want to die?"

"Not particularly, but if you can't kill Dorian, you can't kill me. And you know, you did roast my friend, and you're damn lucky Amelia and Kelly are nice. Otherwise, you would still be in my box." Chandra shuddered, and Dorian wondered what Harry was referring to, but decided it didn't matter too much. Chandra turned to Joselyn,

"Do I really have to stay with them?" Joselyn nodded,

"We need to make sure Dorian is safe."

"I'll watch him," Kelly said, seemingly on instinct. Everyone turned to him, and Kelly shrugged, "He's my other half. It only makes sense I should be the one to make sure he's safe. Besides, the Sommers Mansion is crowded enough with just Mia as an extra guest."

Dorian would be lying if he said he didn't get butterflies in his stomach hearing that. And suddenly he remembered how dirty his apartment was when he left it.

_Crap. H-He's staying over?!_

"Sounds like a plan," Harrison said happily, "Mia and I can handle the whole 'set New York on fire and probably killed over a million people' thing, and you two can practice your powers on each other at the apartment." He waved to Chandra and Joselyn, "Looks like we don't need you anymore. Bye! Hasta la vista! Au revoir! Ha Det! Hope to never see you again!"

Joselyn and Chandra stepped out of the plane, and then Dorian felt Kelly talking to him in his mind,

_"They're talking. Chandra is still gonna stay in New York,"_ he squeezed Dorian's hand, reassuringly, _"I won't let her near you. Adelina...or Joselyn, it's unclear, is gonna look for someone called Ugin or something. Hopefully to help you, but I honestly don't know."_

Without even thinking, Dorian rested his head on Kelly's shoulder, speaking aloud, "What did you guys mean by setting New York on fire?" Everyone froze, and it was Kelly who spoke,

"Your magic flipped out and covered the whole of the city in those flames. I don't think it went indoors, but..." Dorian understood what Kelly was saying and began weeping.

However, the much darker truth was that he felt nothing at all. Three days and he didn't care about what he had done. He knew he should feel sick with himself, but he felt nothing. At least he didn't feel joy.

But he also felt that Kelly didn't judge him at all. _That_ did cause joy.

"Just get some rest, Dorian," he said softly, "I know you need it."

Calmed by Kelly's embrace, Dorian did just that.

OoOoO

"S-Sorry, I wasn't expecting company the last time I cleaned."

Actually, the entire apartment was cleaner than he'd left it, probably because his mother had been staying here in the two weeks that were black for him.

Kelly laughed, "I lived with 284 women, and the majority of them didn't know what cleaning is or dumped things in my broom closet, forgetting that was my room. This is _sparkling_ compared to what I spent most of my life living with."

Dorian chuckled, "I have no idea how you survived. But at least you weren't lonely." He yawned, but then noticed Kelly was helping him out of the suit, before flushing,

"I was gonna wash the suit because you've been wearing it for like three days straight." Dorian nodded,

"We both should probably shower too. We just have one bathroom, so you can go first." Kelly smiled a little, chuckling,

"You are feeling very awkward around here. You have never been the type to hide it, are you, Dori?"

"N-No, I guess not. Father would kill me for having a guest without his permission, but he kinda doesn't like being around me, so it's not like he'll find out. I freak him out." Dorian then realized he was just standing in his boxers and threw on a jacket, only to turn bright red as Kelly was running callused hands on his chest, tracing the black of his heart and how it was starting to spread to his veins.

Kelly grabbed some pajamas from his bag, "You sure you don't want to go first?"

"I'm sure. I'll cook something for late dinner...or early breakfast. I don't think either of us is going to school tomorrow."

Kelly shrugged, "That's fine. I had enough foresight to ask for all the homework for the next two weeks from all my teachers because I am not surprised in the slightest I ended up missing tons of school. I'm pretty sure Harrison is paying the school to not hold me back from the amount of school I've missed over the years."

Dorian laughed a little, "I have a copy machine. Can I copy the homework for English? We're doing Midsummer Night's Dream, right? I might need to check out the play from the library." Kelly nodded,

"Yeah. You're better at English than I am. I, for the life of me, cannot understand what Shakespeare is saying. Can you help?"

Dorian nodded, "Yeah, I can totally help you! Now go get cleaned up, and I'll whip something up." Kelly nodded and went to the bathroom while Dorian put some chicken in the oven, seasoning it in such a way he knew Kelly would like.

Kelly came out in clean clothing within five minutes, gesturing for Dorian to go get cleaned up. So he did, grabbing some pajamas from his room and realizing he had nearly three weeks worth of grime on him. How had he not noticed until now?! He immediately felt mortified and cleaned himself up, spending at least fifteen minutes trying to get washed off.

When he came out, Kelly grinned cheerfully, looking around, "Hey, can I drink some of this coffee? I feel like we should try our best to get caught up tonight. It's almost five in the morning, so I would rather not throw off my internal clock." Dorian shrugged,

"Go ahead. Cream and sugar?"

"Nah. Thanks for offering, though. I've only had coffee a couple times, but I like it black." Dorian went to the coffee pot and brewed some, taking the chicken out of the oven,

"Really? I can't stand the stuff without tons of cream and sugar. But being a junior in high school with no parental help requires many all-nighters." Kelly nodded, eyes twinkling,

"Perfectly understandable. If you ever need help, you can always come to me." He winked, "We're in this together, aren't we?"

Dorian knew at that moment that he was in _trouble_.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Highway to Hell**

Kelly found himself having a ton of fun living with Dorian. While he missed Harry and Amelia, it was nice to be with someone who understood the struggle of being a high school student with new powers and no idea how to control them. Besides, it was kind of cute how awkward Dorian was being, blushing at the slightest compliment. Was he not used to being complimented? Well, that made sense, since very few people knew how talented he really was.

But he could tell his host still lived with the guilt of what happened to Mrs. Nanami and to New York. The casualties had been over three million, knocking the population down to four million. Apparently, the government had tried to get involved, but that ended badly. And a million more people had moved out of New York.

White Sparrow had announced the culprit of this had not been Dorian, rather a shapeshifter, who was now defeated. The real Dorian was still unwell and was resting in an undisclosed location, even if that location was his apartment with an enchantment over it so nobody would think to look there.

But Kelly could see Dorian had that guilt weighing him down every moment. So many lives taken because of something he hadn't even known about. How was he supposed to know his magic had freaked out and attacked a city he wasn't in? It wasn't fair what Dorian had to go through. Why him? Why must Dorian suffer so?

Kelly smiled sadly, tapping Dorian's shoulder from where he was looking out the window, "Hey... is there something interesting out there? You've been looking out the window for fifteen minutes." He wanted to ask what was wrong but didn't want to say something to accidentally make Dorian feel worse. There were still moments; it was clear the other desired to end it all and save everyone.

"They're building a monument." Dorian said simply, gesturing out the window, "With the names of the people I killed. And no matter how hard I try, I don't feel guilty about it. If anything, I feel guilty for not caring. I killed three million people, and I can't bring myself to care no matter how hard I try! I'm a lunatic!"

"Or maybe you accept this isn't your fault. How would you have known this happened when you were out-cold on a flight to Russia?"

"I know...it almost makes me wonder if I was actually the one to do this. But there's no evidence to point to anyone else." He sighed.

One moment, Dorian was exhausted, hair tousled, bags under his eyes, face blank. But the next moment, before Kelly could even blink, Dorian was smiling wide, eyes sparkling, "So anyway, we should probably get back to the makeup work so Harry can deliver it to our teachers after giving us the next load."

_How do you fake an eye-sparkle? Dorian, you may be the eighth wonder of the world._

Regardless, he smiled back but making it clear he was still worried. Chandra had been surprisingly absent, and that worried him a bit. What was she planning? With Adelina or Joselyn or whatever her name was gone, there was no way the pyromancer would just give up.

"Right." Kelly turned to the textbooks, "So...we were working on chemistry, right?"

"If by chemistry you mean glorified math, then yes." Dorian sat down at the textbooks, "You're lucky. Harry is probably a master at this stuff."

"Yeah. Honestly, it shocks me to my core that Harry didn't just keep Chandra and experiment on her. It's quite clear they hate each other."

Dorian sighed as they worked, "Kels...can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What happened? To me. You've been mentioning things like Harry and Chandra previously knowing each other and stuff, and there is a two-week gap in my memory. What happened?"

Kelly hesitated before deciding Dorian had a right to know at least part of the story, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember attacking Regina. And then Chandra shoved me out of the way of a blast, only to demand moments later that I get hit by the spell. I ran, and then next thing I know, it's two weeks later, and my back is in agony."

"Well, the memory gap is because Chandra burned the hell out of your back. Harry had to put you in hypersleep to make sure we didn't lose you. It was a long and excruciating process, and we came up with that lie you've probably heard about to explain your disappearance. The new powers are probably because Mia's sisters were looking for you, so we kid you in the same cave we got our Miraculouses. I was left there while I was dead, and then I got powers. Until I saw you, I thought it was a correlation, not causation. If it makes you feel better, me finding out, I had powers wasn't any prettier than yours."

Dorian hesitated, "What happened?" Kelly squeezed his eyes shut, trembling as the memories of that terrified child flooded into the forefront of his mind. That little girl whose life he cut so painfully short without intentional thought.

He felt evil for that, even if he knew it was an accident, and he had no way of knowing he had developed superpowers. Was this how Dorian felt? Well, it was different for Dorian, because he felt nothing towards his actions but felt guilty for not feeling.

He was surprised to feel a comforting arm pulling him closer, to the point it was at a place between hugging and cuddling.

"It's okay, Kels. I get why you wouldn't want to tell me. But I'll listen whenever you're ready."

They sat in silence for a moment, neither wanting to move, but for similar yet different reasons.

Kelly just liked the feeling of being held and was lowkey a sucker for this kind of affection.

Dorian was in a state on bigtime questioning his sexuality. Remember, this was 1996 when being gay wasn't an accepted thing. But he knew for a fact what he felt for Kelly was more than friendship. Not sexual attraction though, he just wanted Kelly close to him and adored the other with all his heart and would kill anyone who tried to hurt Kelly. He'd do anything to make sure Kelly was happy and loved.

The moment was ruined by a knocking at the door. Kelly got up, and Harrison was at the door with a large pot that smelled rather nice.

"Harry? What do you have there?" Kelly asked, and Harrison put the pot down,

"I created a monster. Mom and Dad just realized how much coffee they buy and how little of it they drink, so they asked me to find a way they could drink it faster. So I concentrated all the dozens of bags of beans into this hellcoffee, and it killed my third pet velociraptor."

There were so many things Dorian could comment on in the young genius's words that he decided to comment on nothing.

Kelly had already grabbed a straw and started drinking.

"OH MY GOD, KELLY NO!" Amelia ran in, "Of all the things Harrison has made, you really think _ingesting_ one of them is a good idea?!" Kelly looked over to Dorian,

"Dori, grab a straw, and come try this. It's pretty good." Shrugging because he really didn't have much to lose, he obeyed. A little too bitter for his taste, but it wasn't bad.

"Um..." Harrison frowned, getting out his notebook, "There are definitely side effects." Amelia was clearly exasperated, turning to the two sleep-deprived superpowered idiots.

"Are you two okay?"

"I'm fine." Kelly said happily, "I feel as though I won't have to worry about sleep—" he collapsed, but he was still breathing. Harrison nodded a bit as Amelia and an increasingly shaky Dorian carried Kelly to the couch, making sure he was alive and such.

"He may have just destroyed the adrenal gland, but otherwise he seems fine," Dorian announced after a moment, "I personally feel fine."

Amelia blinked a few times, "You are shaking so much I'm pretty sure I could use your hands to shake paint cans."

"Wait...fuck." Dorian scampered back, before swan diving out a five-story window. Amelia's eyes widened, and she chased after Dorian, who was partially submerged in the water by the time she caught up with him. But he was clearly not in danger of flaring up, so why was he not getting out? If he collapsed now, he could very well drown.

"Dorian?" Amelia hid as Dorian turned at the sight of Maegan Henry. Amelia frowned a little as she saw Dorian curse under his breath.

...

"Shit," Dorian muttered, face to face with Maegan. Here he was, coming out of his apartment for the first time in weeks, in the freezing water trying to prevent the caffeine in his system from causing another disaster, and Maegan had to come to bother him.

It was no secret Maegan was borderline obsessed with Dorian, and it also wasn't a secret Dorian hated this. It had been bad enough before Morrigan's death, but with all competition supposedly gone, it had just gotten worse.

Maegan has a tan, triangular face, hazel eyes, and long brown hair with blonde highlights, done in such a way it could be mistaken for natural. She was unnervingly thin, but pretty nonetheless. Some of her facial features also suggested she had either a parent or grandparent of Asian descent.

"What are you doing in the water, Dorian-Kun?"

Dorian hesitated, backing into the icy water. It was November in New York, so clearly, he was giving himself hypothermia in an attempt to not kill even more people. So he wasn't sure if it was his blackened heart or his survival instinct that made him want to get out.

"I'm...fine." That word, so many meanings. Deception without actually lying or omitting. Let people hear what they want to.

Maegan looked at the water, anxiously, "Well come on out, silly. You'll catch your death in there." What a poor choice of words she had used.

He looked at her, silver meeting hazel. Maegan held out her hand, "Come on, Dori, get on out of there."

"Yeah, Dorian. Does it really matter if you flare-up? If you do it around her, you'll be finally rid of her annoying prattle. Why couldn't she have been one of the victims?"

Dorian shook his head, stumbling a bit, shivering as his head momentarily dunked underwater. Before he could even think, he was pulled out of the water by force, by none other than Chandra.

"Kid, I was willing to not get involved if you weren't pulling stunts like that." She snapped, dragging him somewhere, having stuffed a cloth in his mouth to make sure he didn't scream for help.

It wasn't long before Dorian lost the ability to feel his senses, and only feel the cold. All colors seemed to fade away, and he couldn't reach his soul...

OoOoO

Chandra started to wonder about Dorian when she caught him, for the third day in a row, sitting with a book staring blankly at the screen, fingers resting on the pages, and doing absolutely nothing. It took three repetitions of his name to get him to respond.

"What?"

"Are you preoccupied with something?" Dorian blinked at her, seeming puzzled. This was somewhat disconcerting, given the amount of usual puzzlement Dorian showed, which was none. Actually, he was usually just annoyed or downright terrified at how he was being held prisoner by her. "You've been staring at the same window for fifteen minutes."

"Oh," he said, "I'm just distracted. You know, being a prisoner and all. I just want to go back to my friends, the people who treat me as more than a danger or cursed. Back to Kelly...he understands me."

Yes, there was definitely something amiss. Chandra narrowed her eyes and decided to watch more closely. While she could care less about this teenager who would later prove to be a deadly yet somehow charismatic foe, she also couldn't have him dying yet.

The next day, Dorian put his head on his book and fell asleep within two minutes of closing his eyes. Chandra sat there, timing how long it would take for Dorian to wake up. Unfortunately, the room service guy walked in. It had been an hour, so why did he choose now to show up?

Just like that, Dorian wasn't asleep anymore. He brushed off concerns with seeming ease and turned back to the book. Chandra felt something like worry and frowned from across the table, but Dorian either didn't notice or chose to ignore her.

Day after that, Dorian was attempting to explain the reason he should be released to Chandra when he stopped midway through his sentence, blinked, and said quite clearly, "I'm sorry, I forgot what I was saying," and Chandra knew for sure there was something wrong. It was a good thing, she decided, that she could keep an eye on Dorian all the time. Whatever was getting to his façade, she would uncover it eventually. She made a mental note to tell Joselyn whenever she got back, and then Dorian leaned forward and vomited on his shoes.

She looked up to tell Dorian to be more careful about what he ate, but Dorian was staring at her with bleary, puzzled eyes. "I don't feel so good," he said and slid limply to the floor. She caught his head before it hit the coffee table and frowned at the clamminess of his cheeks.

It was then she remembered his eyes swirling was also a way of stone wielders showing illness, both physical and mental, and this past Dorian had not reached that with his curse.

This was most definitely not what she had planned.

She did the only thing she could think to do. She called Kelly, only for him to burst through the door mere seconds later, his eyes bright red, and he had one of Harrison's weapons pointed at her head.

...

It didn't take much to annoy Kelly because there were annoyances in life. To truly piss him off, it took being a criminal and harming innocents. To have him fully ready to kill you with no thought to morals, you hurt his loved ones.

Chandra had managed to do all these things.

It didn't take a genius to know to see his friend unconscious on the ground had been enough to make Kelly lose his senses and very nearly finished Chandra off, only to decide Harrison should do that since he clearly wanted to more than any of them. So he instead rushed to Dorian's side, recoiling when he felt the heat radiating off his friend.

He picked Dorian up gently, before leaving, sending a death glare at Chandra, "If you knew what is good for you, stay the hell out of our lives."

With that, he took Dorian back to the apartment, which was trashed in Kelly's rage at hearing Dorian had been kidnapped, and a side-effect of the hellcoffee.

Setting Dorian on his bed, Kelly went to go find a thermometer, and also making himself some coffee since he was tired again.

Fifteen minutes later, Kelly had come to a realization.

Dorian even had to be sick more dramatically than everyone else. 104.9 degrees Fahrenheit fever, and if it had gone 0.1 of a degree higher, there would be nothing to be done but take him to a hospital, which could be a disaster with how some people might not be inclined to help. As it was, he'd called Tazri, who seemed inclined to do so anyway.

He looked down at Dorian's face, pale and still, hair plastered to his forehead and soaked with sweat. His eyes raced under his eyelids.

He tried Dorian's forehead again, uselessly hoping that somehow the fever had gone down in the last fifteen minutes. It hadn't. Dorian murmured something in his sleep that sounded like, "don't eat me." Kelly tucked the blankets more firmly around him. "I won't, I promise," he assured him solemnly, "As long as you don't start looking like a piece of cake."

Halfway through the night, Dorian woke up. "I don' wanna go," he said, urgently, to no one Kelly could see.

Kelly straightened, almost hopefully, "Go where?"

"I don' wanna," Dorian said, growing more agitated. "No! I won't!"

Kelly reached out, pushing his shoulders gently down. "Won't what, Dorian?"

"Narnia isn't real! Besides…s'dinner…maybe dad'll be home…"

Kelly leaned back as Dorian sank back into incoherent muttering.

The next time Dorian woke up, Kelly was almost nodding off. "Kels," he said, and he sounded so lucid and coherent that Kelly shot upright eagerly.

"What?"

"There's something," Dorian said, perfectly still. "Something I need to tell you…" Kelly leaned forward to listen, "Something's sitting on my chest," Dorian said, solemnly, "So I can hardly breathe at all. Can you tell it to get off? Funny…looks kind of like you."

Kelly leaned back and sighed. Hopeless. He shouldn't get so excited. "You're delirious," he said. "Go back to sleep, Dorian."

"Okay," Dorian said meekly and went back to sleep. Kelly stared at him, frowning, and felt worried again. He went into the kitchen and blended up a smoothie.

Once that was done, he rechecked Dorian's temperature, though it was a bit of a challenge with him asleep. Still stubbornly 104.9. "Get better," he whispered, before deciding to gently shake him awake so he could get something in his system.

The first reflex any human being ever learned was how to suckle. At the moment, Dorian seemed to have forgotten even that. Half propped up, eyes glazed and unfocused, he stared at the smoothie and then looked up.

"No," Dorian said plaintively, sounding more like a child than a superhuman. "I don't want it."

"You haven't eaten much and drank little. Would you take some Tylenol? It'll help. I promise." He guided the straw to Dorian's lips, and Dorian looked at him balefully but at least took the straw feebly in his mouth and sucked up a mouthful of pink liquid, and then another. And turned his head away, and he rolled over and fell asleep with his face in the pillow again, the back of his neck flushed red.

Three hours later, he woke up and vomited pink all over the sheets. Kelly frowned and carried Dorian to the couch, fetched a washcloth from the bathroom, and dabbed hopefully at his forehead. "Get off," Dorian said, and pushed weakly at his arm, but by then he was unconscious again.

OoOoO

Kelly woke up and found he had been asleep, and now Dorian was curled up with his hands over his ears and crying. "Nonono," he was saying, "Nonono, it's not true, it's not true…"

"Dorian?" Kelly asked quietly, rubbing his eyes and feeling a little frustrated at himself. It was only boredom, of course, but why was he consigning himself to this? Dorian probably would get better more quickly in a hospital, and they would keep just as good a watch on him there, "Are you awake?"

"You can't make me," Dorian muttered thickly through tears. What was visible of his face was wet, unevenly flushed pink. "No, stop it—you can't make it true—you can't make me—"

Kelly frowned. "Dorian," he said a little more loudly, "No one is," but Dorian's fists clenched, and his voice rose to a scream,

"No! No! I won't! I'd never!" And at that point, Kelly decided things were getting out of hand and reached out, shaking Dorian's shoulder gently.

Dorian's eyes snapped open, and he recoiled sharply. "Get away from me," he hissed, wild-eyed, staring. "Get away from me, I'm not going to be your—your scapegoat—I need to go home—" and with that, his head seemed to clear, eyes widening, round as saucers.

And then he was on his feet and heading for the door, seemingly heedless of his own shaking malnourished body. Kelly scrambled to his feet but stayed where he was to ensure Dorian didn't feel threatened by him and flare-up.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded, "You can't just—" Dorian stumbled and caught himself, shaking, against the door's handle. He turned back, the dark circles under his eyes huge.

"I'm not a killer," Dorian sputtered desperately, "I'm not. Please believe me. Please. I _need_ you to believe me."

A spike in the fever? What… "You're sick," he said calmly. "Come sit down before you fall down, and we can talk. I never said you were a killer, I don't think you are one." The fear was raw and naked and sudden in Dorian's eyes.

"All right—never mind, I'll say anything you want me to, anything, just let me out of here, please…"

_What the hell_ _had Dorian been dreaming about?_ Certainly not Narnia, by the looks of it. "Dorian," he said after a moment, trying to be patient, "What exactly do you think I'm going to do to you?"

"I won't say it," Dorian said blurrily. "It's not true." Kelly gave up on having his questions answered and stood, edged toward Dorian, who backed into the door, looking like a cornered animal.

At that point, however, Dorian's sudden burst of mad energy seemed to wear off, and he staggered, folding neatly in half. Kelly grunted, catching his head and easing his body to the ground, somehow ending up with Dorian's head in his lap. He took the opportunity to check the other's forehead. Still no change.

"Dorian, I promise I'm not saying you're a killer. We're gonna get through this." Dorian looked at him,

"Chandra?"

"Oh. You think I'm Chandra. Not sure whether to be insulted or relieved." Kelly noticed that his eyes were red again, from what he could see in the reflection of Dorian's eyes. So the pyromancer was responsible for Dorian feeling like a murderer.

Dorian's eyes were full again, his breathing picking up too fast. "I'm not a killer, I didn't mean to!" he insisted deliriously, and Kelly sighed, deciding to run his hands through Dorian's sweat-soaked hair, and that did the trick to calm him. It was almost as though Dorian was purring.

"Alright, Dorian. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No...I killed people..."

"Too bad. We're going, end of the story."

"But what if I lose control?" While it sounded like they were having a lucid conversation, they really weren't. Dorian was not all-there in any sense.

How many times in the last couple of years had the hospital staff been bombarded by Kelly and a friend with one of them in horrid condition? Many. So the receptionist took one look at Kelly, very bored,

"What is it this time?"

"Dorian has a fever of 104.9."

"Ah, deadly fever this time. You kids certainly love to keep things interesting. Where are your parents?"

"Bold of you to think I have them." Kelly snapped with a little more venom than intended, "All we've got is the Sommers family, and only the kids are home most of the time. Tazri Sommers is kind of the unspoken mom of the group. She's my emergency contact. Dorian's contact is his father, who is in...Australia, last I checked."

The receptionist gestured for them to sit, "A doctor will be out soon after seeing those of higher importance."

Without even thinking, Kelly found himself looking in the receptionist's mind to see who was higher on the list. Only one person. Alright, that was manageable.

OoOoO

The distant sound of something whirring unevenly cut through his haze with brutal clarity. It whined through his head like a steal drill when everything else felt like cotton, muffled and fuzzy and thick. His mouth and eyes were full of sand, his head was full of fluff, and every part of his body ached mercilessly. He tried to remember what had happened, but all he could come up with were disjointed, disconnected pieces that didn't fit together. Trying to drink a smoothie that tasted like Pepto-Bismol, lying with his head on Kelly's lap, hazy memorize of Chandra cutting him to ribbons with flames like blades, demanding he confessed to being a murder, become a killer, fulfill his destiny…

He forced his eyes open and through the grit of the sand and the blur of his headache, made out sapphirine eyes staring down at him. He meant to ask what was going on, but it came out as moaning sounds.

Something tugged as he shifted, and his head lolled sideways to look at the IV in his arm connected to a hanging bag of clear solution. _I've died, _he thought blurrily, _I've died and gone to hell._

"Are you actually conscious or just pretending?" Kelly asked, and Dorian swallowed hard and regretted it. It felt like his throat was full of gravel.

"Kels?" He managed to ask. Kelly shrugged.

"You didn't recognize me the last time you were awake, thinking I was Chandra of all people. I decided it would probably be better to wait before trying again."

"Oh," he managed to say. He felt hot and tried to push the covers off. Kelly pulled them back up and glanced at something he couldn't see, then reached across and pushed a button.

"Up again," he said in his velvety voice, eyes still on Dorian, "Time for another dose." He released the button and turned back toward the bed. "Funny. You get more lucid when your fever's up. How do you feel?"

Fever. Ah. That made sense. Dorian hadn't been sick since he was ten—not even a cold. Maybe that was why he was feeling so awful. He could feel himself sweating. His shirt was soaked with it. "Hot," he complained.

The door opened, and a nurse hovered in the doorway for a moment before Kelly stood up with a nod, retreating to lean against the wall. Dorian's neck ached, and he gave up on holding his head up, going back to staring at the ceiling and the broken fan. "Can you turn that off?" he grumbled, "It's giving me a headache."

The nurse looked at Kelly, who nodded tensely, knowing full well headaches were the last thing someone with their powers wanted. "Of course, Dorian. We can turn the fan off."

Dorian wanted to strangle someone, but his arms hurt too much, and he wasn't sure he could lift them if he tried. He took the pills obediently, which seemed to surprise the nurse, and swallowed the orange juice greedily, and promptly spat it back out because it wanted to come back up.

She nodded and then looked firmly at Dorian, seemingly newly determined. "And how do you feel?"_ Like dying._ "Any trouble breathing, nausea?"

"No," Kelly said tersely, and she looked at him again.

"I can answer for myself," Dorian snapped and instantly felt bad for being bitter with Kelly, who only wanted to help.

"You haven't been clear where you are for the last week, Dorian," Kelly informed him calmly. "I don't think anyone's going to trust your answers for a while." the nurse left, and Kelly went on, "Certainly not until your temperature is under control. And it's nothing short of a miracle I managed to manipulate doctors to not question your literally black heart."

"I'm going to sleep," Dorian announced, after a moment, because he didn't like to think about that. Kelly came and sat down again, next to the bed, where he'd been when Dorian awoke.

The pillow smelled like disinfectant. Dorian fell asleep with his face in it anyway.

OoOoO

It was dark when Dorian opened his eyes. They felt sticky, full of glue, and his mouth still tasted like sand; he felt pitifully limp and weak, and his throat ached. He glanced down at his arm, and the IV was, pumping something into his bloodstream. The beep of a heart monitor was steady and soothing by his ear. He felt dizzy and strange and disoriented, and stared at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what had happened.

"Dorian?"

Kelly sounded exhausted and turned the bedside lamp on. He looked even paler in the light, examining Dorian's face. He coughed weakly. "—Hi."

Kelly sighed in relief, looked up at something over Dorian's head, and seemed to slump. "The fever broke last night," he said, "They said there might be a relapse, but it looks like you're almost back down to normal."

He didn't feel normal. Dorian felt tired and drained and empty. "How long?" he managed to rasp.

"Ten days," Kelly said wearily, and then added, "Since you were hospitalized. Before that, probably two. At least that I noticed. But most likely four from how long you were with Chandra."

_No wonder I feel so awful._

"Your throat probably hurts," Kelly said. "They just took out the feeding tube yesterday." Dorian almost flushed with shame. He hated to be so helpless, so weak. Embarrassment heated his blood almost as severely as the fever. He could feel himself blushing, this time, and remembered throwing up on his own shoes.

"Father?"

"Is probably just glad you're alive." Kelly looked solemn, even with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and shoes kicked off. "They weren't sure for a while there. When was the last time you were sick?"

"Years ago." Dorian looked down at the blanket folded down around his waist and grimaced. His chest looked hollow even to him. His hands gripping the sheet were barely more than bone. He must have nearly starved to death. Maybe the fever had broken, but he was still far from well.

Dorian tried to push himself up, feebly, and Kelly pushed him back down, one hand on each shoulder. "What are you—" he started, surprised. Kelly seemed to be examining his face, his eyes.

"Don't do that again," Kelly said suddenly. "I was worried."

And that was the moment Dorian knew for a fact that he was in love.

OoOoO

Morrigan didn't know what exactly possessed her to actually go in search of Cosmo. But she had made a promise to the Oracle to find Cosmo some friends. Freya had assured he had some, but it didn't hurt to at least check.

It didn't take long to spot which of the kids was Cosmo, because of his silver-white-platinum eyes, and the wings on his shadow. Beside him was a young female. The two seemed to be sparring, both angry but not at each other.

Using a little magic, she managed to lure Cosmo away from the fight and to her.

When he came close, she noticed there was an emptiness in his eyes she had never seen before. Suffering that she couldn't comprehend. As though he could not forget the faces of thousands of victims. Who could understand the man who had lived his life, and had to live confronting lives ending prematurely, the devaluing of life as a daily reality? How was it possible to measure the pain of such a man? Was it an agony so terrible as to leave the dark circles around his eyes?

He looked at her with dull curiosity, "Are you new?" He asked in a monotone voice, brushing some dirt off his dirty blue jeans.

"No...Cosmo...I came to talk to you. I was told to check on you." Cosmo stared blankly before his eyes widened, and he staggered backward. All that power she could feel flowing in him, trapped inside that body, and he was backing away from her, terrified.

"Cradh..." His terror turned into anger, "What's that bastard want?"

"N-Nothing," it was now Morrigan's turn to cower, at how drastic that shift had been, "What makes you think—" she was cut off by hollow laughter, and tears spilling from Cosmo's eyes,

"Tell his highness if he wants to kill me, he needs to get down here and do it himself. I'm not going back. _Ever_!"

And Morrigan was sent flying and left the system, colliding with a mountain she knew well. But what she did not expect to see was a hooded figure walking into the prison.

Curious, she followed the figure deep into the mountain, having to plug her ears at the screams and moans matching that of Cradh's realm. Torture was something she always hated and grew sick by. But who was this figure, and why were they here?

She gasped quietly as she saw the figure enter the Oracle's cell.

"Joselyn Carpenter," Morrigan heard the Oracle say, "Or should I call you Adelina Amouré? Or am I speaking to Esmeray Muerte?"

"My name is of no importance, nor which of us speaks, as we share a common goal." the girl replied, lowered her hood, and waves of brunette hair with black streaks came tumbling out, "I merely came to ask you something. A question for a question."

The Oracle grinned, "Did you learn that tactic from future me, or from your father?"

The girl tensed, before sighing and relaxing, "I did not learn this from my father, nor the man you likely refer to. I merely see you now because time travel is draining, and I knew getting here now would be easier than my time."

"Alright." The Oracle smirked, "Anije e Iku, how did you escape those bonds?" The girl's eyes showed a split second of painful memories,

"A sacrifice I wish hadn't happened for more reasons than one. And now it's my turn. You're the all-knowing Oracle, so you of all beings must know the answer."

"Ask away."

Morrigan gasped as the girl's appearance became noticeably more sinister, "How does one kill the creator?"

There was a sudden joy in the Oracle's eyes, followed by manic laughter, must harsher than Cosmo's and less broken, "Oh, how many years have I waited for someone to ask that."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Lessons**

Morrigan picked at her food at her desk, looking out the window of her room, with her domain seen below. Pure souls roamed about in small towns, as was the design of her predecessor.

Memories of what she had heard from the girl talking to the Oracle raced through her mind. That girl wanted to kill someone. The creator? It had been unclear who exactly they'd been referring to, but it was implied to be similar to what the Christians called God. But that still begged the question of _why_ they both wanted this person dead.

But was it even her concern? She was a member of the death council, so why did it matter if someone died?

Still, she wanted to know what was going on. So she did the one thing she could do and asked Freya, who was reading quietly.

"Freya? I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I overheard something yesterday. A girl went to talk to the Oracle about some information on killing 'the creator' whatever that means."

Freya chuckled, "Not the first time someone has asked that, and it certainly won't be the last. Talking to the Oracle is new, though. But they're referring to Cradh. Don't even ask me why that's how they refer to him, but it is. Go check some of the files or ask Cradh himself if you don't believe me. Don't worry about it."

Morrigan nodded a little, "Yeah. You're right..."

OoOoO

"Kels, Dorian, I want to ask Harrison out."

Both Dorian and Kelly whirled from where they had been working on homework at the table to hear Amelia's words. Dorian raised an eyebrow, taking his ice cream spoon out of his mouth,

"Wait, you two weren't dating already?"

Kelly had to stifle his laughter, "Mia, don't be nervous. Do you want me to talk to him first and see if he'd be open to the idea?"

"Would you?" Kelly shrugged, and Amelia hugged him, "You're the best, Kels!"

"Don't mention it."

And so he went to check on Harrison, who was messing with some of Dorian's blood and brain scans.

"Hey, Harry. Anything new?"

"Yes, actually. I can't figure out _what_ exactly is in Dorian's blood, but there certainly is something, because it's causing an abnormal amount of dopamine and glutamate to be produced."

Kelly crossed his arms, "I'm not a genius. Should I know what that means?"

"Oh. Probably not," Harrison chuckled, "Dopamine and glutamate are two brain chemicals that contribute to the development of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia or just straight-up psychotic behavior. The results suggest abnormal levels of glutamate may lead to changes in the levels of dopamine, causing the transition into psychosis. If we could prevent this kind of abnormal glutamate-dopamine interaction early enough in the illness, it might prevent Dorian from actually going on to get full-blown psychosis."

"Um..."

"If I poke at him enough, I might be able to at least keep the curse at bay for a while. A huge step would be to figure out what Regina added into his bloodstream to cause this. But regardless, giving him a medication to regulate dopamine might work for now."

"Well, that's a start." Kelly sat down, "So, what would happen if Mia asked you out?"

"Kels, I thought we discussed this a year ago. She's nice, and I've had a crush on her for years, but I'm living on borrowed time, so there's no point in even trying until I find a cure."

"Yeah, but Chandra confirmed you live at least well into your forties. I wouldn't quite say it's borrowed time anymore."

Harrison hesitated, "What are you getting at? This is all theoretical anyway."

"I know. But even if you are living on borrowed time, you need to actually live it."

"But you're the one who asked me to look at the blood and the scans..."

"Don't worry about it." Kelly wrapped an arm around him, winking playfully, "As your wingman, I'll be here for you, bro."

Harrison flushed, "I still feel like this whole thing could change everything. What if she rejects me, or we end up breaking up? You can't go back after that. Our friendship will never be the same!"

"Yeah? Well, I've been putting up with the sexual tension between you two for long enough. Before you ask, there isn't much that is visible, but I read minds. And even Dorian thought you two were dating already."

Harrison nodded to himself, "Okay. I'm gonna ask her out." He then froze, "But what if I get shot down and out friendship is over?!"

Kelly groaned, texting Amelia that yes, Harrison did want to go out, but was too nervous to say anything.

OoOoO

So Harrison and Amelia were on a date. But, needing to spy on his best friends on their first date but also feeling too awkward to do it alone at a restaurant, he brought Dorian along.

Dorian ate quietly while Kelly observed their friends. He wasn't sure if he was going insane or not, but it seemed that Dorian's eyes were dilated for some reason. Why? No idea. Was he still sick? No... he seemed fine, other than a little bit of a flush on his cheeks.

"Dorian? You okay? You're a little flushed." Dorian looked up,

"O-Oh. I'm fine. It's just a little warm in here."

"Yeah, I can agree with that." Kelly chuckled, "Look at them over there," he gestured to Harrison and Amelia, who was laughing, "Do you think I should let them know I'm here?"

"Wait, they don't know?"

"Nope. But seeing as Amelia and I are basically twins since we were born in the same place on the same day and have grown up together, it's my job as a brother to make sure she's safe. And believe me, if this were any other guy besides Harry, I'd be at the table with them, embracing my third wheel title."

Dorian laughed a bit, "But because it's Harry, you felt too awkward to do that. So now it's a kind of double date while you spy on them."

"Exactly. That and Maegan knows where you live, and I didn't want to risk you dealing with that." Dorian smiled,

"You're a lifesaver, you know that?" Both of them knew what he actually meant. When Kelly was a literal lifesaver, but both just pretended he was referring to Maegan and her obsessive love.

Kelly grinned, "Which one should I tell? Or should I tell both and say I hadn't told the other?"

"I like the second option."

Kelly nodded, going into Amelia's head. It had taken weeks, but he was confident in his ability to just enter minds and talk. Altering thoughts was still something he was too scared to try.

"Hey, Mia. Liking the food? And it's nice to see how you two interact when I'm not alone. I wonder what I missed when I was dead."

Amelia paused, _"Okay, what are you talking about?"_

"I'm in this restaurant with you. Dorian's here too."

Amelia looked around for a second before spotting them, and it was clear she was fighting the urge to facepalm.

Then Kelly went into Harrison's head,

"Hey, buddy. I'm here in the restaurant with you." Harrison also looked around and sighed when he saw Dorian waving happily, and both he and Kelly give the new couple a shit-eating grin.

"They're never going to escape us, are they?"

"No. Probably not."

OoOoO

When they made it back to Dorian's apartment, he and Kelly were laughing and plotting new ways to get Harry and Amelia together.

They did not expect to find Makane, Maki, Molara, and Macy inside the apartment.

"Makane?!" Kelly ran and hugged her, "Guys! What are you all doing here?"

"We've been looking everywhere for Dorian," Maki said, "We were actually going to tell you that we lost him and had no idea where he was. But, here he is. You guys need to be careful. Most of the witches are either here or on different worlds."

"Different worlds?" Dorian asked, "You mean like planets?"

Macy nodded, "Basically. Travel between them is easy if you have the proper tools, but most of us witches would have trouble without Mother's help. As we train more, it gets easier."

Dorian turned to Kelly, "We should tell Harry about this." Molara put a finger to Dorian's lips,

"No. Travel between worlds is forbidden. And telling others about it defies the world order. Mother is breaking the rules to try finding you, Dorian."

"Why is it forbidden?" Kelly sat down. Makane crossed her arms, leaning against the wall,

"Well, there are many reasons. The main one is religious pricks who will kill others with different beliefs. You take a history class, so you know what I mean." The two boys nodded, and she continued, "But the other, more magical reason... is due to a certain species."

"Species?"

"The Worldbenders." Maki explained, "Created when two of different worlds, both with magical heritage, procreate. This creates a Worldbender, who is a god among men. There have been a couple throughout history," she shattered a vial on the ground, and glowing green images appeared of young people with extraordinary abilities, "Some had limitless potential and were benevolent, creating their own world and bringing peace. Some consciously limited their powers for the sake of a shred of normalcy, still powerful, but preferred a normal life. But others developed a god-complex and decided to take matters into their own hands. They enslaved and tortured and killed. See, a being with too much power is a dangerous one. So Worldbenders were hunted down and killed by unknown means, and travel between worlds became forbidden."

"But surely Regina's screwed men from other worlds," Kelly insisted, "How have I not seen something like this?"

"Well, just because the circumstances are common, doesn't mean it's a guarantee to happen. Mother has had yet to produce a Worldbender, no matter how hard she tries. And seeing as you, Kelly, damaged her to the point she nearly lost the baby she carried, no more witches will be born through her."

"Damn, Kels." Dorian turned, "How'd you do that?"

"Ashwood." Makane answered, "Don't know why, but Mother hates the stuff. A couple sisters are allergic to it, though, so maybe she is too."

"Maybe..." Kelly pondered, and Dorian shook his head,

"No. I cut that bitch with my scythe, and she just regenerated. Why would she only be affected by wood? Even if it is an allergy, it shouldn't mess with her powers so much, right?"

"It might actually," Kelly put a finger under his chin, "I've seen Regina fight, and she can very well, even if she chooses not to. But after I stabbed her with that, her movements became much more sluggish. That and I kept the wood in her instead of taking it out. That was bound to cause damage." He looked up, "But does that matter too much? We still need to hide Dorian from Regina, and it won't be easy since he's basically famous."

"Yeah. The only reason we're back in that we came to tell mother we lost him," Molara said, "But there was a report of some girl called Maegan saying she spotted Dorian here."

Kelly groaned, "Bollucks."

"And Mother might get Maizono involved at this rate."

"Double bollucks."

Dorian turned, "Who's Maizono?"

"One of the older sisters," Maki explained, "A necromancer. Her main specialty is creating infectious zombies."

Dorian's eyes widened, "Doing that in New York?! That could cause an actual zombie apocalypse, and if they get to airports..."

"It's game over for the world within a couple months." Kelly mused, "However, even if zombies reached all the major airports, it would still take forty-one days to reach the more rural areas in the United States, and even longer to reach parts of Canada."

"Why do you know that?" Macy asked, and Kelly chuckled,

"It's in Harry's survival plan after Mia told him of Maizono's existence." Kelly replied, looking up at the witches, "Can you guys try finding out when and if Regina is calling Maizono?"

Makane nodded, "Of course. I'll send you a message in a couple days. If Maizono is arriving sooner than that, I'll talk to you myself."

"Thanks." Kelly grinned, "I'll try and get Dorian to a rural area just in case."

"Kels, I don't need to be protected." Dorian insisted, "I can take care of myself. Your place is here. I don't want to drag you around with me on the run. At this point, it might be better if I go to live alone in a cave on another world."

"Dorian, no. We're going to solve this mess. Besides, Harry's thought of something that might help keep the curse at bay."

"Really?" Dorian sighed in relief, "Oh, thank goodness!"

"Well, we'll leave you to it." Molara ruffled Kelly's hair, "It was good to see you again, Kels. I'm glad you're alright." Kelly gave Makane one more hug, and the witches left. Dorian was looking through the textbooks,

"So we've both got a handle on our powers. Fortunately, my parents had the foresight to put me in summer school to get more credits, so I am for all intents and purposes a senior in high school when it comes to my credits. But _you_ still need to head back to school. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Kelly sighed, pulling up his sleeve and revealing the black marks on his wrist from where the Lion Miraculous used to be.

"How do I hide this, though?"

"It looks like a tattoo. Everyone knows you were dead, no matter how much Amelia and Harrison tried to hide it, so just say you got it in the resurrection ritual."

"I might as well," Kelly looked out the window, "I don't want to leave you if Regina really is looking for you."

"Well, it's better I make myself known before Maizono is brought in. And it'll only be more suspicious the longer you're gone. And if anyone attacks..." he pulled out his scythe in its pen form, "I'll just slice them."

"You're sure?"

"Positive. But for now, dinner two. Because as delicious as the meal we had earlier was, my stomach says I'm hungry again and must take full advantage of teenage metabolism while I have it." Dorian got up and looked in the fridge, "I could try to skillet-fry some steak if you want."

Kelly got up, "I'll help. What's the worst that could happen?" He got smacked with an over mitt,

"Don't say that. Especially in this friend group, that phrase gets you killed, and the apartment blown up."

Kelly laughed, "You're right."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: A deal is made**

It was two in the morning when Dorian made his choice. A choice to protect Kelly and the others, and the world, just in case Regina did call Maizono.

He left his room and smiled at Kelly, who was sleeping on the couch. This was a risky plan, but it was for Kelly's sake. He would understand, hopefully soon.

It wasn't hard to find his way back to the woods, but it took a little longer to find the manor, and he knocked on the door and was let in with little to no issue. Many of the witches examined him, muttering about why a boy would come to them. He revealed his blackened heart, and they let him through. In the process, Dorian saw the broom closet that used to be Kelly's room, as there was still furniture inside, making it look like a bedroom.

Walking into the study, he stared at Regina and Mara with a cold expression, concealing his scythe in pen form. There were two ways this would go since he knew it was unlikely Regina would dare kill him. She placed a curse over him for a reason.

"I hear you've been looking for me." He said, noticing from one of his mirrors that there were flecks of red in his silver eyes. Regina nodded and gestured for him to sit. Mara stood guard at the door,

"Where did you go?"

"Got on a plane to Russia," he omitted simply, "It crashed in the middle of nowhere in Norway. But I've been in hiding for a little over a month. However, it recently came to my attention through Amelia that you would potentially call upon a necromancer named Maizono?"

"What makes you think that?" Mara asked, "The last thing we need is for you to get killed."

"But why, though?" He asked bitterly, "What's so special about me?"

Regina smiled, helping him to his feet, and he was shocked to see the whole city within her cauldron, at a birds-eye view,

"You have no idea the power you and Kelly together can possess. Have you realized that bond yet?" Dorian remained silent, but it clearly gave her an answer, "You love him, but he is either oblivious or doesn't return those feelings?"

"Mine and Kelly's love lives are none of your damn business. I came here to let you know I'm still in this world, and to get the damn curse removed. That's all."

Mara came over, "What you call a curse is actually a gift. We've opened your eyes to how dull the world is." She gestured to the people in the park as she used magic to zoom it in, "Look at these mortals, how they crawl around like little ants, doing very little other than confusing fate with what is merely chance."

Regina's smile was dark yet also wistful, "Having been a former mortal, you may not yet see the appeal, Dorian. But give it a few decades of being twenty forever, and you will find humans hilarious little creatures, just living every day till the day they die, going through the motions as if there will be a reward. When they don't find one, humans rely on this pathetic thing they call love until they fall."

"Former mortal?" Dorian looked at his hands as though expecting to see something other than flesh and blood. No, he still looked human, other than the glowing hair and the black heart. Then again, both Regina and Mara also looked human.

"Yes, former mortal. Former human, too, actually. I don't know what exactly you are, but you and Kelly both yielded your mortality and, technically, your humanity. That doesn't mean you won't find joy in human activities, and nothing is stopping you from returning to your life. But why I chose you instead of Kelly? Honestly, you weren't special, Dorian. A capable fighter, and I see many uses for you, but the first time I tried to corrupt you was a heat-of-the-moment decision, and the second time was after convincing of both Adelina and Chandra."

"Well, if I'm not special, let me go! What if I just want a normal life? Or as normal as I can have." He felt that fire at his fingertips, "Let me go."

Regina's expression was that of mock pity, "Oh, Dorian. It's cute you think I have the cure. Inflicting a curse and lifting it, especially one like this, are two very different things. There's only one thing that can truly heal you, and the chances of you finding someone willing _and_ able to do it are slim to none."

"What would I need?" He asked, and Regina chuckled,

"Why should I tell you? Now that you have powers relevant to me..." she then brightened, "I'll tell you what. I have terms for you. If you fulfill my tasks, any task I give you, I will tell you how to break the curse and how to get it." She held out a hand, "Deal?"

"On one condition."

Mara was clearly taken aback, "She's given you what you want, and you make terms?"

Dorian nodded, "Because, for all I know, she will use me to harm those I care about. So my term is that Kelly, Amelia, Harrison, and the Sommers family cannot get involved with your requests. And I am allowed to refuse requests, with the only penalty being not told information about it. Once my curse is broken, or one of us is dead, I'm free of this bargain."

"I cannot control their actions," Regina replied, "But I will not request anything that would put them in direct danger. The rest of your terms are reasonable. Deal?"

"Good enough." He shook her hand, shocked when a tattoo appeared in the form of a cresent-moon on his bicep. "Huh?"

"Just proof to others that this bargain exists. It's also a way of marking your territory," he growled at her for no heads up, "Is that all?"

"I came all this way, you might as well give me a hint about how to break this damn curse."

"Of course." She removed her necklace and handed it to him, "There's your clue."

It was a simple necklace, with a silver chain and even more silver used to keep a small gem of tanzanite in place.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

Mara laughed, "You've got the trio on your side. You figure it out. Goodbye, Dorian." When he was gone, she turned to her mother, "Mother, why would you tell him how to break the curse? Tanzanite alone might be enough if I'm right about Morrigan not really being dead."

"No need to worry, Mara. The favors I'm asking of Dorian will help in our goals, even if he doesn't know it. And it's not like I'm going to ask him to do anything without year-long gaps, both to avoid suspicion from anywhere he goes, and to make sure it will be years before he figures out what he needs to do. Even then, where is he going to find someone powerful and suicidal enough to do it?"

OoOoO

Just as Regina said, it was a year before she asked something of Dorian. In that time, Chandra and Joselyn had left after Joselyn asked for some guy call Ugin to make sure Dorian didn't kill himself. Still, since that was no longer an issue since Dorian had hope that he could break the curse on his own, Ugin's services were not required—much to the annoyance of Joselyn, who had been walking for months, only for none of it has been necessary.

Dorian's frustration at being unable to figure out what the tanzanite meant grew into a rage which had Kelly forcing him to take up embroidery, since stabbing people every time he was in a pissy mood is frowned upon in society.

Harrison and Amelia were officially a couple, with Kelly being there every step of the way while also training his powers with Dorian—his equal. Dorian's love grew into a burning passion, and he knew he would do anything if Kelly told him to with even a hint of care.

The medication Harrison was giving him was helpful for the most part. However, they had to be careful since Dorian's desperation for a cure was turning into an addiction for the medication, and they didn't want to risk messing him up even more.

Another thing that had started was Dorian once again moonlighting as Misfit as Amelia's partner. Kelly didn't like that since the curse had caused unpredictable moments of violence. Sometimes it gradually built up over the day, and then he snapped, or he went from zero to a hundred in seconds. But Dorian needed something to do other than practice his powers or do schoolwork since it distracted him from the things Chandra planted in his head about one day becoming a villain. Best do as much good as he could before he couldn't anymore.

When he finally got the call that Regina wanted something, he jumped on the chance quickly but was quickly frustrated when he couldn't find his scythe anywhere. Instantly, he knew Kelly took it, so he went down to the park where he saw Kelly sketching as children played around him.

"Hey Kels," he sat down cheerfully and turned with an equally cheerful tone, "Where's my fucking scythe?"

Kelly didn't even look up, "Dorian, there are children here. Use proper language," he gestured to the children playing not fifteen feet away from them, some of them talking about the Garth Brooks concert in the park a couple months prior. Kelly and Dorian hadn't gone, but they'd been able to hear it from miles away.

"May I ascertain the current whereabouts of my fucking scythe?"

"Smartass." Kelly looked up, "Why do you need it?"

"A... Job." Dorian explained, "I was promised information on how to break the curse if I do this." Kelly paused, glaring at him,

"Dorian, what did you do?"

"You think that disapproving glare still works on me after all the times I've seen it?" Dorian asked, scoffing a little bit. Kelly was not amused,

"You're going to do something crazy." Not a question.

Dorian playfully touched his heart, trying to ignore what he would find if he looked, "Thank you for not saying 'stupid.' Even if it's probably true, it means a lot. But don't worry, I'm the kind of person that thinks things through."

That had Kelly laughing, "Since when? Just this summer, I watched you eat a marshmallow that was still on fire!"

"Yeah, well, can I have my scythe?"

Kelly pulled out the pen and went to hand it to him with a begrudging sigh, before hesitating, "Tell me who's hiring you."

Silence.

"Dorian," he warned, "How much have you been doing behind my back?" Those eyes were going to be the death of him, and it made Dorian relent,

"I went to Regina a year ago. I honestly thought she'd forgotten about it."

Kelly was silent for a moment, his left eye twitching before he grabbed Dorian's shoulders and shook him,

"You idiot!" He roared, "What the hell were you _thinking_ to talk to the wicked bitch of the west?! I thought you said you weren't gonna do anything stupid!"

"When did I say that? I thought we established this plan is insane and most likely very stupid."

Kelly got up and brought Dorian back to the apartment, "She's the one who gave you that necklace." He muttered, "I should have known when you told me not to worry about it." He pulled out his phone, "Harry, I know this is probably a bad time, but please get over here."

Dorian looked at his feet, "Are you mad?" He had never seen Kelly like this before, and quite frankly, it scared him. He knew the others were worried about his mental state, but Kelly had always been concerned about his safety. And he could be firm at times, putting his foot down when things crossed a line, like any good friend would, but never had he resorted to yelling and saying he was an idiot. Then again, he had gone to Regina of all people, who Kelly knew quite well.

Kelly faltered, "Yes, I am mad. But mostly at the situation, and that you didn't tell me. If you had just told me, Dorian, we could have found another way."

"But Kels, you don't understand! I'm running out of time, and I'm running out of it fast. And in my mind, it makes sense to go to the one who cursed me. Clearly, Chandra didn't want my curse broken, but it's _my_ choice whether I become some evil mastermind or not, not Regina's and not Chandra's. And even if I hadn't, I went to her a year ago, and we've come up with nothing with just the tanzanite necklace. We need more clues or..." he wept, "I'm done for."

Kelly softened, hugging him, "I understand. If I were in your shoes, I'd do the same thing." He put two fingers under Dorian's chin, "Sorry for calling you an idiot, I just don't want to see Regina taking advantage of you like I know she will. She's probably going to string you along until its too late and the use you as a slave."

"I'll kill her myself if that happens, but I have to take the chance."

Harrison and Amelia came in, both more than a little confused as to what was going on, "Kels? What is it?"

"Dorian made a deal with Regina to learn how to break the curse. They made the agreement a year ago, and only now has it come up."

"Wait," Harrison crossed his arms, "To break the curse, or to learn how?"

"To learn how." Dorian muttered, "She said breaking the curse is harder than placing it. And the tanzanite thing is my only clue."

Kelly shouted into the air, "Death!"

Death appeared, "Hello, Kelly. What do you need? Are you going to use your favor?"

"Wait, I have a favor?" Kelly brightened, "Why didn't I know this before?!"

"It's part of the agreement back when you were the council's intern. You were an outstanding intern and thus get a favor. I will do anything in my power for one wish of yours."

"... Sweet. Break Dorian's curse, please." Death sighed,

"I'll look and see what I can do." She vanished and came back two hours later, "I'm sorry...that's not in my power." Dorian's eyes widened,

"You're in charge of death! Please, there has to be something you can do! P-Please... _Please_, I'll do the intern thing, I'll do anything." He got on his knees, "I beg you."

"I... I'm so sorry, Dorian. I'll keep looking, no favor required. This isn't fair to you. But... no promises that I'll find anything. As much as I hate to say it, his best chance is to work with Regina. Maybe just keep tabs on him while he fulfills her task. Okay?"

"O-Okay." Kelly bent down beside Dorian, wrapping him in a blanket as Death left,

"How long until you meet with Regina?"

"A-Around midnight." Harrison pulled out some movies,

"Well, we're gonna be here for you. What time does your Dad arrive home tomorrow?" Dorian's eyes widened,

"Crap! I forgot about that!" It had been over a year since he'd seen his father. Hadn't even seen him at his mother's funeral. To be fair, his parents were separated, and the only reason they had worked together was the fact they both loved their son and wanted answers. They'd told him over the phone about what happened, and Mr. Nanami decided to come home for a bit to spend time with his child to figure out if there was anything he knew of that could be done, "I think around noon."

"I'll send for a driver to pick him up," Harrison smiled, "Maybe he'll have an idea."

"I don't know. If even a death goddess can't do anything..."

Amelia ruffled his hair, trying to give him a shred of hope, "Well, are we the type to give up? We're gonna get through this, Dorian. Don't worry."

Dorian felt asleep, weeping quietly. They all knew he was scared out of his mind. Hell, they were scared out of their minds too. But he clearly needed all the support they could give.

When the time came, and they had a half-hour until Dorian's meeting with Regina, Kelly woke him up with a gentle shake, startled when he momentarily saw swirling in his eyes, before they cleared again.

"Time to head out, Dorian," Kelly said, waking up Harrison and Amelia. Harry handed Dorian a headset,

"This way we can communicate. Use this," he put a little button on Dorian's suit, "To let us hear Regina and overanalyze her words for clues."

Amelia clapped Dorian on the shoulder, "Stay out of trouble."

"Not my strong suit. But I'll try."

He ran out to the woods and saw Regina waiting for him in a clearing, the hood of her cloak up,

"Hello, Dorian," she said fondly, "Ready to help me?" When she saw him nod, she handed him a scroll, "Here's what you have to do."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Four teens and a baby**

Of all things Dorian expected Regina to make him do, breaking into a museum and stealing a Chinese puzzle box was not one of them. He had communicated with Harrison for a bit, before deciding he needed to do this on his own, and turned off the listening devices.

The thing looked to be ancient, as Dorian held it in his hands. It turned out, breaking into the Metropolitan Museum of Art was surprisingly easy. Or maybe it was because he could use his powers to make the security systems glitch out, so he'd been in and out in a matter of minutes, with no alarms going off.

He handed the box to Regina, "Here. This is the right box, right?"

"Yes. You did much better than I anticipated. Maybe you were the perfect choice for this." Dorian growled when Regina tried to leave,

"My hint?"

"Don't you worry, Dorian. I haven't forgotten." Regina held up the box, "Do you know what exactly you've brought me?"

Dorian examined the box. It just looked like an old trinket worthy of being in a museum, "A decorative box?"

"Well, yes, but there are other uses for these particular boxes. See," Regina opened it, and screams came out of it. She shut the box, "Some of these puzzle boxes are enchanted to trap souls, rip them clean from the body. It's a much faster way to make Darklings, or even to remove the soul and absorb its power. Stay for a couple hours, and I'll show you. Of course, if I want you to stay, you have to, seeing as I haven't told you the hint yet."

It was at this moment Dorian knew Regina was actively trying to corrupt him. But he didn't exactly have much of choice, seeing as she was the only one to understand how to break the curse. The last year had been hell, trying to suppress the murderous urges.

Cue sitting through an awkward dinner. He quickly located Maki and sat next to her, trying to find someone he was comfortable with, and tried to make pleasant conversation,

"Dorian, what are you doing here?" Maki asked. Dorian shrugged,

"I think your mom wants me to eat someone's soul, and I'm honestly quite worried about that. Anyway, what have you been doing?"

"Trying to help Maizono," Maki said, "She's been pretty reclusive after what happened to Meredith, her twin. Honestly, after that, I doubt she'd give Mother the time of day. She's been trying to find Meredith for a while. But I mean... most of us are pretty sure she's gonna be batshit insane."

"Is Meredith any threat?"

"Doubtfully a threat to _you_, but Kelly and Amelia might be in danger since their 'betrayal' is the reason Meredith got exiled the way she did."

"Should I hunt her down and kill her?" The words slipped out faster than Dorian could stop them, fully ready to attack with his scythe or even his mind-wiping flames. Only after he said the sentence did he realize he wouldn't have imagined himself capable of murdering anybody a year ago.

"Oh, lord," Maki examined him, "That curse has done a number on you." She then smirked a little, "Or is it something else?" She gestured to the food on Dorian's plate, "It's not poison. You can eat it."

Reluctantly, Dorian took a few bites, marveling at how shockingly amazing the food was. He heard Maki chuckle, and he decided to get to know her better since he had a feeling he'd be seeing more of her,

"So, Maki, what do you like to do?"

"Alchemy and potions, mostly. My actual magic is in my intelligence, almost like an analytical power. I don't use it all that often, though. But I make lots of potions, such as the one I take daily, which makes me immune to the magic of others. It comes in handy when you have hundreds of sisters, especially a baby in the house." She gestured to the end of the table, where he saw a witch he remembered Kelly identifying as Melania was feeding a baby girl with brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Mother had Maryalice about five months ago," Maki muttered, "She's got shadow and ice powers. Poor girl, she might be considered useful by Mother. Luckily, she's the last Blackwell baby."

Looking at that baby, Dorian had a cruel smirk on his face, "Say, Maki, how does the Recrusent Sigil get branded onto Blackwell witches?"

"Our birth certificates, why? Burn the birth certificate, and technically we are nameless. Therefore Mother cannot find us. Mother keeps all the papers in her room, though."

"I have a plan," Dorian said, "To make her break my curse once and for all. Say, Maki, do you have anything like sleeping gas?"

After dinner, Dorian went to Regina, seeing she had made a little tart. It was glowing, and that was somewhat offputting.

"Eat," she ordered, and Dorian sat down in front of the soul tart, reluctantly eating it, screaming as he was flooded with even more power. When he got the ability to open his eyes again, Regina was watching him, "See why the box is useful?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess." Dorian stood up, holding the glass vial he had gotten from Maki, subtly pouring the contents into Regina's cauldron, "Say, can you give me that hint now?"

"Oh, right, I owe that to you." Regina stood up, walking over to her cauldron, not noticing the red hue of Dorian's eyes and the downright evil smirk. She made a few gestures, and the cauldron lit up, revealing six stones within it, or the image of them,

"These six stones, one for each category of a living thing. These are each a gemstone—peridot, which you and Kelly share, onyx, amethyst, sapphire, emerald, and garnet. That's your hint."

Dorian pondered this as he noticed Regina growing increasingly sleepy from Maki's drug, which was active when inhaled. Dorian was breathing as little as possible to make sure he was awake.

"So there's a stone of tanzanite somewhere. Alright then, I'll just have to find it." He watched Regina pass out and revealed his real malicious intent, "Or you'll do it for me when I'm done here." He then dug through her cabinets until he found Maryalice's birth certificate, which he burned while grabbing a new birth certificate from another cupboard.

Then he ran through the building, whipping out his scythe once he reached the nursery, seeing five witches in there, all of which guarding the baby. He chuckled,

"Do you really want to fight?" One revealed pink fire, and Dorian grinned, spinning his scythe in his hand just for the hell of it since he knew he could win this fight, "Alright then, let's fight."

It was downright unfair in Dorian's favor, using his scythe to cut through one witch and using his mind-wiping flames to take down the rest, before finishing them off. When others came to see what the commotion was about, he unleashed more chartreuse flames into the hallway, grabbing the infant and leaped out the window, rushing back to his apartment, making sure to snuff out the fire.

The baby cried loudly as he landed on the couch, and Kelly groaned awake from where he was on the couch.

"Dori? Wha...why you crying? That's you, right?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes, "How'd the mission go—why is there a baby?"

"Uh...surprise?" Dorian muttered, "Don't worry, we're not keeping her. She's just my leverage over Regina," he bounced the crying child, "You're gonna be my little ticket to being free, aren't you?" The baby continued to cry, and Dorian cursed as he turned on the light, "Kels, can you help me with her?"

"Yeah... I guess. I doubt I'll be able to go back to sleep." He looked at the child on the table, "So first of all, maybe she doesn't like you because you're covered in blood—before you say anything, no, I'm not going to ask. Mostly because I don't want to know."

"That's why you're the best, Kels," Dorian grabbed a fresh set of clothes, before stripping and getting in the shower, wondering how he had gotten blood in his hair.

It was about halfway through the shower that he realized he had spent most of the last few hours being...evil...and he'd loved every second of it.

He curled into a ball in the shower, pulling his knees up to his chest and crying his eyes out, dully feeling his heart beat even more tainted blood meant to corrupt him even more.

What had he been _thinking_ kidnapping Regina's baby?! That was wrong on so many levels, but now he had to go through with his plan. Maybe if he were lucky, this whole thing would go off without a hitch within a couple days.

He heard a knock on the door, "Hey? Dorian? You've been in there for a half-hour. Are you alright?"

Dorian looked up a little, but only managed to continue crying. He dully heard Kelly pick the lock and come in,

"Hey...I called Mia since, technically, this baby is her sister." He turned off the shower and helped Dorian out, wrapping him in a towel. Even if he was kinda out-of-it, Dorian was well aware of every touch as Kelly helped him out, those enchanting sapphire eyes seeing right through him.

"What happened, Dorian?" Kelly asked, "I wasn't going to push you, but..."

"I-I-I can't..."

An invisible hand clasped over his mouth; an equally ghostly hypodermic of adrenaline pierces my heart, unloading in an instant. He felt his ribs heaving as if bound by ropes, straining to inflate his lungs. His head was a carousel of fears spinning out of control, each one pushing his mind into blackness. He wanted to run, needed to freeze. Sounds that were near felt far away, like he was no longer in the body that doubled over into Kelly's arms in a panic attack as he burst into flames.

"Dorian, breathe with me, okay? Deep breath in, then out," he guided Dorian in this, holding his hand since he was immune to the flames surrounding them both, "You can get through this, I'm right here. Concentrate on your breathing, stay in the present."

That was what Amelia walked in on, Kelly unbothered by Dorian's fire, using his own power to keep it all contained between just the two of them.

Eventually, Dorian managed to control his breathing, noticing himself being held gently against Kelly's chest, feeling his breath, and those eyes filled with determination as though he was saying, "I won't leave you."

"I... I lo..."

Kelly handed him some water as the flames went out, "Drink," Dorian obeyed, helping him into some clothing—it was at this moment that he also realized a towel was his only clothing. He felt his entire body heat up in embarrassment.

"So...what did I just walk in on?" Amelia asked, "Do you two have something to tell me?"

"Wha—ah—no." Kelly smiled a little, "He just had a panic attack, and I'm helping out."

Amelia was clearly not satisfied with that answer, but accepted it, "Get him dressed, and we need to decide to do with this baby. We also need to give her a new name if we want to piss off Mother by disconnecting this new one."

"We'll be out in a minute," Kelly said, gesturing for her to close the door, then he looked down at Dorian's furiously blushing face, "You okay?"

"I've been better. I'd feel much better if I was dressed."

"Well, I can help you with that," Kelly hoisted him up, "Come on. Oh! Shit, your Dad's gonna be here in about five hours."

Dorian's eyes widened as he remembered that, "Shit! How are we gonna explain that I casually murdered people and kidnapped a baby?!"

"I mean..." Kelly bit his lip, "You haven't seen him in over a year, and this baby is small..." Dorian blanched,

"Kels, are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"That you should just say you knocked up a girl, and she left you with the kid? Yes. That would also explain why I've been living with you and not that you wiped out half of the city."

"So...I'm swapping out mass murderer for teen father?" Dorian pondered this as he put some boxers on, "My Dad's gonna disapprove of both of those, but I think the cursed mass killer will get me grounded, while teen dad will just get a disapproving stare in my direction. But at least he won't question why you live with me since you're the most popular guy in school, and its common knowledge you babysit."

"Well, there you go." Kelly also changed his top since his current shirt was soaked. Now he wore an azure shirt that matched his eyes and accentuated his muscular chest, "We should probably go meet your daughter now."

They walked out once Dorian had thrown a sweater on and saw the baby was being held upside down by Harrison—who was looking at the child in the same way he looked at data.

"Oh shit! Harry, no!" Kelly ran and grabbed the baby, holding her properly as she screeched, "You know, there's a reason she doesn't like us. But the last thing we need is for her powers to act up. Speaking of which...what are her powers?"

"According to Maki, it's shadow and ice manipulation." Dorian went to the new birth certificate, "I need a name for her... what am I supposed to name her?" He looked and saw his history textbook open, with Queen Alexandrina Victoria front and center, "Screw it. Alexandrina Nanami."

"So, you're actually adopting her?" Amelia asked, and Dorian shrugged,

"Only until her usefulness ends. Hopefully, Regina will break the curse in exchange for her youngest back since Kelly fucked up her reproductive system, so this is the last Blackwell."

"And what if Regina doesn't want her back?" Kelly wondered, and Dorian tensed,

"I... I'm hoping it doesn't come to that." He looked to Alexandrina, as she seemed to be content in Kelly's arms now that there wasn't a guy covered in blood in the room as well. She cooed and fell asleep.

Amelia giggled, "Dorian, funny story. So seeing as Mother has a lot of kids, you can guess that we all had to take care of the babies, right?" Dorian nodded, and she continued, "But Kelly has always had this magic baby superpower. No matter how fussy they get, he can make them shut up just by holding them. One of my sisters, Matilda, starting running around the house when she was three, screeching that Kelly had powers after he got baby Michelle to sleep after she cried for an hour before he got involved. It scared the hell out of Mother and Mara when they thought he had powers. After that, he got put in charge of all the babies. Makane used to joke it's Kelly's eyes that enchant them to sleep."

Dorian sighed dreamily as he watched Kelly rocking Alexandrina, his eyes twinkling, "Well, they sure are enchanting..."

Harrison and Amelia looked to each other after observing the way Dorian was looking at Kelly. Then Harry handed Amelia some money.

Amelia cleared her throat, "So... where are we gonna keep the baby if we're planning to convince your Dad that she's yours?"

"I was thinking about just filling a drawer with blankets."

"That honestly works for now," Harrison muttered, "But thankfully for you, I'm rich as fuck and have been using my allowance to pay your bills to make sure you stay calm at all times. School is still stressful for you." Truth. They'd gone back to school for senior year—Dorian was glad he had those extra credits since he had missed a lot of school days. Things were going well so far. And now this had happened.

"So, what does the fact I owe you my life have to do with anything?" Dorian asked, "And Dad does send me money to pay the bills, but I usually put it towards repairing things I accidentally blow up."

"I mean that I can buy you some baby stuff. We can turn the closet into a baby room. When she's older, you can ask your Dad if you can just buy the place for yourself since he's never here anyway, and that's a waste of a perfectly good bedroom."

"I suppose you're right." He looked to where Kelly had fallen back asleep with Alexandrina on his chest. Amelia sat down next to Dorian,

"Do you... have feelings... for Kelly?"

"What—I mean—of course, I do, he's my friend, and he's been a real lifesaver through this whole thing. How could I not treasure him? You don't find people like that these days."

"I meant more than platonic feelings. I'm not dumb, I see the way you look at him. And he cares deeply about you, but he's oblivious that you love him since he's used to friendships being _very_ close. Am I right?"

Dorian flinched, knowing she was right. And if he were a girl, he wouldn't be afraid to confess to Kelly. But with the way the world was, it was harder to admit. And Kelly knowing the truth would change everything.

"Relax." Harry assured, "Your secret is safe with us. If anyone is gonna tell him, it will be you when you're ready. And between you and me, Kels gets flustered easily when people confess to him. It's cute to watch. You'd think he'd be used to it by now since I swear his yearbook award will be 'most likely to make panties drop,' but no, he stammers, and it's hilarious."

"Thanks for the heads up. And I am going to confess to Kels... just not yet. I'd rather he know I love him before I turn into a homicidal maniac and potentially go all yandere on him. But he also needs to know I don't have much hope he'll return my feelings, though I will be there for him no matter what. It's cheesy, I know, but I still want him to know."

Harrison's phone beeped, and he checked, "Ah, Tazri's wondering where I am. She says she's stopped questioning what I do, just to let her know I'm not dead in a ditch somewhere—speaking of which, I'll send my butler to get your Dad from the airport in a couple hours."

"And for the record," Amelia said, "You're lucky you have Kelly because I actually hate kids. I'll never have them. I have too many damn sisters to see having kids as a good thing."

"That's fair. Isn't this one the 285th?"

"Think so." Amelia shrugged, "But anyway, we have some time before your Dad arrives, so let's get baby stuff. Just give Kelly the scythe, and he can handle anybody who tried to grab the kid."

And so, they went to the store. Thankfully, the Blackwell family was pretty well-known here. Thus the employees just assume one of the daughters was getting baby stuff for their mother again.

"Hey Mia," an employee named Sadie called, "Your mom had another kid?"

"Yeah. Dori's here helping me since this one's a hand full." Amelia giggled, buying the supplies, "At this point, I've seen so many babies that I'm surprised my natural instincts haven't kicked in. Having a baby sounds like a nightmare."

"Yeah, you say that," Sadie laughed, "Just you wait."

"Yup, I will wait for a hundred years." She rolled her eyes as she paid, walking out with Dorian, "Come on, time to pretend we care about this little banshee."

They came back to Kelly, having blended up a steak and feeding it to the little thing. Alexandrina seemed to enjoy it.

"Kels, how did you blend a steak?" Amelia asked in exasperation, and Kelly shrugged as he took a long sip of coffee—having damaged his adrenal gland after downing the hellcoffee, so now he was an addict,

"I cut it into tiny pieces, then put it in the blender. Now it's mush, and she's eating it."

"You're going to be an awesome parent," Harrison replied from where he was analyzing Alexandrina as she shrieked in delight when Kelly tickled her stomach,

Kelly rolled his eyes, "Bold of you all to think I'd find a partner."

"What are you looking for in a partner?" Amelia asked, sending a look at Dorian.

Kelly shrugged, "Someone nice, who puts up with my ADHD, not afraid to stand up for what's right. Preferably smart, too, so I don't have to talk down. And will understand and accept all this insanity in my life."

Harrison was grinning, "Girl? Or are guys on the table too?"

Kelly whirled around, "Okay, what is this about?" His eyes lit up a little when he entered Harrison's mind, and he turned bright red. Dorian knew at that moment that his life was over, Kelly knew.

Never had he been more relieved when Kelly had a confused look moments later, "So there is someone you think I'd be a good match with. Guys, I thought we talked about this. I'm not ready for that kind of thing, especially with all the crazy in our lives. Maybe one day. As for the guy or girl thing, I never really thought about it since I've never dated before."

_Oh, thank god, he doesn't know._ Dorian sighed in relief. But a part of his heart broke, knowing that it might be too late by the time Kelly was ready. He then forced himself to think on the bright side that maybe this plan would work, and then he'd have all the time in the world.

Harrison seemed to notice what was going on in his mind, and handed him a refill of his dopamine regulation meds, "Here. But remember to take them sparingly, only when needed."

"Right. Thanks, Harry. I really do owe you guys everything. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Don't mention it," Amelia checked her watch, "Be lucky it's a weekend. But I've also gotta be at the pep rally tonight since I'm a cheerleader."

They all turned when there was a knock at the door.

"Looks like your Dad's home," Amelia said, and Dorian took a deep breath, _well, here goes nothing_, and opened the door.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Love and Sacrifice**

Ryan Nanami walked into the door, hugging Dorian eagerly and putting his bags down. For having spent years away, there was a surprisingly small amount of luggage.

"I'm back!" He held Dorian's face, "I heard about what happened. Let me see what I can do?" He then noticed the child in the drawer, "Who's that?"

"Um..." Dorian laughed awkwardly, "It's a long story. But... she's mine."

Ryan looked down at the baby, "Who's the mother?"

"Uh...oh! No, nothing like that. I found her abandoned on my doorstep with a birth certificate saying Alexandrina Nanami. The weird thing is I'm a virgin, so it's probably just Maegan's attempt to make me marry her." He paled as he realized she would totally do that if she learned he had a baby. Well, both he and Kelly had crazy mind powers, so if it came down to it, they could force her not to.

Kelly shook Ryan's hand, "I'm Kelly, Dorian's roommate kinda. I've been staying and helping with the curse and baby situations. These," he gestured to Harrison and Amelia, "Are my friends, Harry and Mia."

Dorian sat down on the couch, "Dad, I love ya, but can we please save the small talk until we get a verdict on things that can be done about the curse?" He took off his shirt, "The black veins spread to my left shoulder in the last year. But it doesn't affect my stretching." To prove a point, he stretched his arm to grab Alexandrina all the way across the room, no strain whatsoever from the blackened veins.

Harrison and Amelia left when Ryan started examining Dorian entirely. However, Kelly stayed to handle the baby—and he really did hate getting in the way of Kelly spending more time with Harry and Mia.

But things had been different since Harry and Amelia became a couple, they went on more dates. Dorian admitted he had read Kelly's diary that one time he made the mistake of leaving it open, and Dorian mistook it for a fantasy manuscript. Kelly had admitted in there that he was afraid things would change in their friend dynamic since he needed to help Dorian, and Harry and Mia had been content without him for months in the time he was dead and an intern for the council. But they still hung out every Friday night as a trio, since Dorian didn't want to get involved. The last thing he wanted was to be a liability.

But deep down, he knew he was a hindrance to Kelly—even if Kelly always insisted the opposite—who could be perfectly happy spending his time in luxury at the Sommers mansion with his best friends. Instead, he got stuck with a cursed, borderline psychopathic, unstable, desperate classmate, who could only give him a couch to sleep on since Kelly was too damn polite to take the bed.

"Kels," Dorian smiled from where he was laying on the couch as his Dad examined him, "Go have fun at the pep rally with Mia and Harry."

Kelly frowned, "You sure? You can take care of her?" He gestured to the baby, and Dorian nodded. He saw Kelly brighten, "Want me to bring back dinner?" At the shrug he got in response, Kelly grabbed his wallet and ran out the door, "Guys! Wait up!"

Once alone, Ryan grew cold, not quite hostile, but Dorian also braced himself for an earful, "Cut the shit, Dorian. What's really the deal with that baby?"

Dorian sat up, "I... may have kidnapped her from the witch who cursed me. My plan is to use the baby as leverage to get my freedom back." He sighed, unable to hide it anymore. Better to get all the revelations out like ripping off a bandaid, "You want the truth? I killed Mom. I wiped out millions. I spent months dealing with a time traveler who was hellbent on me becoming an evil mastermind in twenty-something years, and I don't know how much time I have left. The only reason I'm not dead is that either Kelly saved my ass or damn time travelers tried to use a dragon to wipe my memory of the curse or some shit—so I can slowly go insane while oblivious. And even though Kelly is with me every day and he is an amazing person, I constantly wonder if he wishes he hadn't saved me, that way he could just get on with his life and not have me as his magical other half. He could be living in luxury at Harrison's mansion, but he's stuck here with me."

"Is he doing anything that makes you think that?" Ryan asked, sounding a little hostile now, but not towards Dorian.

"No. Kelly's not. He's been nothing but gracious and kind. I just don't want to be a burden to him."

Ryan sighed, helping his son sit up, "Just know that he's stayed with you through this. You're right that he could be at the mansion, but it's 1997, we have cell phones. The fact he's chosen to stay here with you in important." He nudged Dorian playfully, trying to lighten the mood, "I'm sure he's quite the chick magnet. Girls come here often?"

"No. Kels doesn't date—until recently, I thought it was my fault."

"Anyone on your mind? Anyone who fancies you?"

"I've got a stalker who will totally say she's Alexandrina's mother if she finds out. But... no girl interests me."

His father nodded, "Ah, so you've got the hots for Kelly."

"What!?" Dorian giggled awkwardly, "No. Can you imagine how awkward that would be since he lives with me?"

"No, I can't imagine that. But your blush is giving your true feelings away." Dorian purposefully looked away, afraid of what his Dad would think for his murderer, kidnapper gay son. He got up and cradled Alexandrina since she was getting fussy. When he didn't just see the spawn of Regina, she was actually pretty cute.

"You're probably realizing I'm a lost cause and going to kick me out."

"If you didn't show remorse for your worse actions, and I didn't know better, I would. But I've heard of power like your new psychic one on my travels—it's hard to control. Therefore a murderer is wrong because you didn't mean to. Even if this curse caused some bad things, you're trying to break it and better yourself. And since I'm barely part of your life, and will be leaving again in a week, I have no say in who you sleep with. Even if I did express my own feelings, you're eighteen and, as such, will disregard everything I say the second I turn around. So I won't help you with your love life, but I will also spare you the lecture. Just remember that your partner must treat you right."

"Thanks, Dad. Speaking of which, can I have the rights to the apartment? You don't come often, and I don't want Kelly confined to the couch forever."

Ryan sighed, "My little baby, all grown up and slaying motherfuckers—not the vision of your average parent, but as long as you're alive, out of prison, and not a crackhead, I can say I didn't _totally_ fail as a father."

"Uh... thanks?" He looked down at Alexandrina, "Well, maybe we should bond with this little thing before I send her back."

...

Kelly enjoyed himself at the pep rally, where Amelia was one of the lead cheerleaders. He did find it annoying that people kept flirting with him. Just because he was single didn't mean he was ready for a relationship. Frankly, after living with the Blackwells for so long, he was barely attracted to girls and content playing wingman forever.

But he admitted he'd missed this. Now that he had a good enough handle on his powers to not be overly dangerous, he had started craving being out and about. He knew Dorian had noticed and felt horrible about it. At least Dorian understood the stir-crazy feeling.

Harrison wrapped an arm around him, "Kels, you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Just strange being out with loads of people," Kelly sighed wistfully, "Two years since the incident. Mia and I will be eighteen in like a week. What do we do then? Tazri only let Amelia stay until she was eighteen."

"Um... Tazri's gone."

"What?"

"I-I told her about what you told me about other worlds. I _may_ have tested it out. Now Tazri's gone, and I'm trying to pull her back."

"Harry! How did you manage that?!" Kelly threw his arms up, knowing the answer would probably be long and complicated, "Do any of us have parents in our lives?! Mine are dead druggies who left me to die in the woods. Amelia has Regina and an unknown father. Your parents are beating the living daylights out of people during wrestling or whatever the fuck kind of sport they're doing this month to the point I wonder if Makane's father is one of your ancestors. And Dorian has his father who's always off on quests to figure out the elastic stuff. How are we supposed to raise kids of our own if we'd be running like chickens with our heads cut off?"

"Beats me, but it's not like Mia and I would ever try for kids. Namely because of that whole 'boys die' rule in her family. Apparently, even Amelia doesn't know the reason, so it's been decided by us that Regina's just salty about sexism against women back in the day. And Mia has too many sisters. But then again..." he bit his lip, "Kels, I've been dating Amelia for over a year and a half, and I've known her for seven years. At that point—" Amelia did a flip in her routine, blowing a kiss to Harrison as she was thrown in the air by her fellow cheerleaders, "should I propose to her?"

"Damn. You're so sure?"

"That and my mother sat me down last night and gave me the family rings, telling me to make some grandkids for her. I personally feel very awkward, even though I know she's only doing this so early because I'm supposed to be dead in ten years max." He pulled out the box with the rings in it, "So now I am asking my best friend for advice."

"Um... maybe the winter formal? If I know anything about Mia, it's that she's a sucker for romance Christmas movies."

"I know that she's obsessed with them. But how should I go about it?"

"No idea, bro, and I would rather not invade any minds to learn. But this is your moment to shine, Harry."

Amelia started another routine, and she was the only one to not look tired. It was impressive how she could keep going—but she was a superhero, and her power as a witch was her speed and endurance.

Harrison coughed, coming from deep within his chest, meaning he needed to use his vest soon, "It's nice, knowing I'm going to live to at least 45 and all, but I'm still working on a cure because this sucks."

"I don't doubt it," Kelly took a moment to cheer for Amelia, turning back to Harrison, "And for the record, I'm gonna be your best man."

"You think that was a question? I better be yours too."

"I mean, I've been having weird dreams of my best man being a goat, so unless you're a goat in my subconscious..."

"I swear, Kels, if you elope and your best man is a goat, I'm gonna be so pissed. At least elope with Dorian because you two are practically married anyway."

"Huh?! I'm not married to Dorian."

"You live together, go to dinner together, do very little apart, and sometimes bicker like an old married couple. Not to mention the more-than-friends behaviors."

"So? Amelia and I were the same way for over a decade, and she's basically my sister. I'm just good friends with Dorian."

Harrison shrugged, "If you say so. I only ask because people have started talking, thinking you two are..."

"Oh. Well, when have I ever cared about rumors? Besides, Alexandrina is in the picture now."

"Who's Alexandrina?" Maegan appeared next to them, making Kelly jolt, "Is she important to Dorian?"

Kelly smirked a little, deciding to lie. Nobody had to know Alexandrina was a baby if they were careful. "Yup. She's the most important girl in Dorian's life, she might even move in with him."

"O-Oh. I may have to meet this harlot trying to steal my beloved and make her regret being born." She stomped off, and Kelly rolled his eyes, going into her head, and for the sake of everyone decided to attempt planting thoughts in her head. So he made her accept Dorian wasn't into her.

He grinned a bit at the power he felt, doing that, and not killing someone. He then rolled his eyes,

"Oh, Maegan, nothing makes you regret being born more than being the child of Regina Blackwell. Poor Alexandrina...or maybe we should start calling her Alexa."

Harrison chuckled, "I assume you just messed with her mind?"

"You know me so well."

"Regardless, Dorian has his scythe, and Maegan actually has _parents_ who fact check. We should be fine." The announcement went off saying the pep rally was over, people cheered for the mascot, and Amelia bounded over to them,

"Kels, can you take the amulet for patrol tonight? The girls and I are gonna go to iHop to celebrate."

"Sure, have fun, Mia." She subtly slipped him the amulet, kissed Harrison, and ran back to her fellow cheerleaders. Kelly turned to Harrison,

"So, Harry, have I ever taken you flying before."

...

Amelia enjoyed her food and listened to the other cheerleaders' gossip. She usually hated the rumors, since more often than not, they concerned her or her family being in a cult or something—not entirely wrong, but still not something she had enjoyed being picked on for. But it was getting better since both Dorian and Kelly had returned safe and sound.

This was also useful since Macy had taken up being the cheerleading coach and was acting as a spy—but Regina was incorrect in Macy's real alliances—and served as a messenger between Amelia and her sisters.

"So, Macy, has Mother done anything about Dorian's stunt yet?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Whatever Dorian did, disconnected Maryalice from her Blackwell heritage and Regina's grasp. She might try to get revenge, though."

"What are you two talking about?" Christine asked, "We gotta discuss your wedding!"

"Huh?"

Juliet brightened, "There's a rumor that Harrison might propose soon!"

Amelia wondered how that rumor came to be. While she wasn't against the idea, she had Harry hadn't really talked about the future for anything except wondering what had happened to make time travelers come to visit. Besides, Kelly was the "go big or go home" type for this kind of thing, where little makes sense, but it's still great. But Harrison was quieter about stuff like this, and usually timid about making the first move.

Of course, if she did marry Harrison, she'd have to renounce her immortality first, since she didn't want to watch him grow old and die while she remained young.

She'd planned to do it anyway when aging stopped, but then Kelly became immortal, and things grew strange. But if she really was going to get married...

She shook it off. _Who am I kidding? It's doubtful Harry's gonna propose soon, so why worry about that now? For now, pancakes and listening to gossip._

The moment was ruined by the sound of screams.

"Oh no," both she and Macy said in synch and groaned when they saw part of the city was once again up in flames. At least they were normal flames this time.

Amelia saw at least ten of her sisters fighting Dorian, and Blue Jay was helping him. She cursed and quickly pressed a button on her watch to create a suit made from the combined efforts of Harry and Dorian. She took off into the air, grabbing Blue Jay and hiding briefly so she could give him the watch, and he could give her the amulet. Then they jumped back into action, seeing Harrison was on this rooftop too, finally putting his portable death ray to use.

"Misfit!" Sparrow called, "Where's Alexandrina?"

"Safe with Dad," was the response as Misfit dodged a blow of electricity to the head. White Sparrow quickly noticed he was on the defensive, not planning to attack unless needed.

Kelly used the bow and arrow to attack, blocking some blows and attacking with others, backflipping with the same grace as he did years ago.

Harrison jumped back to Sparrow, "Are we going for the kill? Because these are your sisters, who won't stay in prison."

"I don't know. Hopefully, we can scare them away. Only kill if there is no other choice."

"Maybe," he whipped out a device that gave him claws like Wolverine, "Kels can," he coughed while deflecting a blow, "make them sleep!"

"That's a good idea!" Sparrow flew over to Kelly, kicking one of her sisters along the way, "Kels, make them sleep!"

"Uh... I can try? I'm only just starting to influence people with my powers," he tried, and Marco dropped dead, "I can't!" He then jolted, and Sparrow gasped as Kelly clutched his head and screamed, crystalline wings ripping from his back. Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed, the scar on his wrist glowing brightly because Maggie had been holding his wrist while he had been distracted, and forced power in, causing his body to short circuit.

Sparrow used her throwing knives and threw Maggie off the building, and saw the exact moment Dorian saw red, going from defensive to offense in a matter of milliseconds, his movements becoming a death dance as he spun and whirled.

It was over within seconds. All their opponents, except Maggie, were dead just like that.

But what also happened...

Harrison dropped to the ground, having gotten part of Dorian's scythe through both lungs. He was dead in moments.

"No!" Sparrow detransformed, and a semi-conscious Kelly was helped up by Dorian, who didn't notice what had happened.

"Harry..." Kelly whispered, a bought of exhaustion leaving him unable to support himself, so he was being held by Dorian, who had paled.

"I-I..."

"Harry, come on, wake up! Please!" Amelia screamed as she realized Tazri had been right all along. Being with Harry would put him in danger, and now he was gone.

Makane appeared with a grim expression, bending down beside her bawling younger sister and weakened surrogate brother, "I am so sorry this happened."

"It's not... your fault."

"Maybe not, but perhaps I can make it right."

Amelia's eyes widened as she realized what Makane was going to do as the witch hugged Kelly, even though he was drifting in and out of awareness.

"Why are you...?" Amelia asked, and Makane smiled,

"I know how close you all are. And for him giving you both shelter, I owe him. Take care of each other for me."

She bent down beside Harrison's corpse and started murmuring a spell under her breath. Amelia was too stunned to react while Dorian was holding a crying and drained Kelly as Makane shed a tear, starting to glow before her body turned to ash, which left upon the breeze into the sands of dust and darkness. That remaining light entered Harrison, who started coughing,

"Harry!"

Harrison blinked a few times, but he was still breathing weirdly as he sat up. Then he started crying, yet also smiling.

"I can breathe," he announced, and at the confused look from Amelia, he grabbed her shoulders, laughing, "I can breathe! It's so easy!"

Then it dawned on her. Harry had been stabbed in the lungs, and Makane gave her life to heal him, giving him her immortality. Because she was over three hundred years old, her body was reduced to nothing.

But Harrison's cystic fibrosis was gone.

Dorian started crying both in guilt and fear as Kelly passed out.

Amelia didn't hesitate to pick up Harrison and did her best not to look at Dorian and the bloodshed he had caused, but sighed when she remembered it wasn't really his fault. It was the curse's fault.

But regardless, she still felt nervous around him, knowing they had to break that curse fast.

OoOoO

Kelly was being monitored while he slept, and Dorian wouldn't leave his side, waiting nervously and rereading the note he had found in Makane's place.

_Dear Kelly,_

_If you're reading this, I yielded my immortality for you or a friend of yours. I've been working to gain Mother's trust, and I have a potential lead on how to break the curse._

_In the Dark Realm, there is a kingdom formerly ruled by the Enchantress known as Iku. She has a stone, much like the six currently known, but it is unknown what the nature of hers is. Find it, and it may be Tanzanite with the power of restoration._

_Take care, kids, and don't die._

_Makane_

Dorian sighed, knowing he had to hurry. If this didn't work, he would have to avoid Kelly at all costs and forcefully isolate himself. But would forced isolation even work with his powers?

He still couldn't believe he'd been so careless and let Harry get caught in the crossfire. He could tell that, because of his actions, Mia was debating leaving Harrison to protect him. Harry had been begging, insisting he was okay with danger.

He put the letter down and turned to Alexandrina in a bassinet. For his father's safety, Dorian had begged Ryan to return to his travels, saying he didn't want to risk hurting him. Sadly, this meant he was now alone with the witchling he had kidnapped. He picked her up,

"Alexandrina, I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I thought Regina would want you back, but I was wrong." She wasn't listening, too busy looking at the ceiling fan. Even if she was, she was barely six months old, so she wouldn't understand. "But I won't hurt you as long as I have my mind. You're safe for now."

Amelia came in, looking at Kelly with sad eyes,

"Any change?"

"No." He looked up, "Mia, is this Dark Realm thing doesn't work, I want you to lock me up and kill me if needed."

"Dorian, isn't that—"

"I killed your boyfriend, and your sister gave her life to bring him back! Kelly got hurt, and I wanted to kill, craved the feeling of blood on my hands. I'm getting too dangerous, and since I can no longer trust my body to not turn on me if I need to kill myself, I'm trusting you to finish me off. And I can't have Kelly living with me anymore, for his own sake."

Amelia sighed, "Fine, Dorian, I'll do it."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Adventures in the Dark Realm**

When Dorian heard the term "Dark Realm," he had been expecting that to be a fancy name for a small forest or a bar, or a code name for a mafia or gang, not an actual Dark Realm they needed Maki's help to access.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Maki asked, and Dorian nodded.

"Seeing as I'm running out of both hope and time, this is a good idea. Worse case, I die, but at least I'd die my own way."

"Hate to break it to you," Kelly said from where he was still resting, having only woken up in the last couple hours, "I'm coming with you, so the goal is to not die."

Dorian hesitated, not wanting Kelly to go with, especially since he didn't know about the agreement with Amelia. And it was no secret at this point that the curse became more apparent if Kelly was in danger because then Dorian saw red. Love, even an unrequited crush, was dangerous.

"Kels, you just woke up after getting attacked. It would be best if you didn't get hurt. Makane isn't around anymore to bring back the dead."

Mention of his recently deceased surrogate sister made Kelly's mood darken, and he looked absently at the wings he had yet to retract.

"Dorian, I've come back from the dead before, and I might as well give Death a damn fruit basket. Worst case, I do the intern thing again or use that favor of mine—though, admittedly, if that was going to be of any use, it would have broken your curse so we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with."

"You have no fear of death." Dorian deadpanned, unable to really process how little Kelly cared.

"I lived with Regina Blackwell for twelve years, would you have a fear of death after that?"

"Touché."

Maki finished making the magic circle, and Amelia looked down at it, suspiciously, "Is that cocaine?"

"Yeah, you wanna make something of it? Mikan bought it for one of the Chandra killing plans, and the sisters are getting curious. And for the record, thank you, Dorian, for killing twenty sisters in the last week and kidnapping one. The dishes are much more manageable."

"You're...welcome?"

"You don't know the pain of having 285 sisters. Anyway, the magic cocaine is ready to make a portal."

"Of all the weird things I expected to hear in my lifetime, that is not one of them," Kelly said, getting up with the help of Harrison, who gave him a drone,

"Remember to send the drone out, and it will take pictures and map out the area. And bring back samples of things!"

"Sure, Harry." Amelia looked down at the portal, which was now an indigo whirlpool, "Is it safe, and can we get back?"

Maki shrugged, "Hopefully."

Kelly narrowed his eyes, "That's not comforting."

"Never said it was. Don't die."

"Dorian," Amelia turned to him, "If I die because of you, I am gonna be so pissed."

"Noted." Dorian hopped through the portal, followed by the others moments later.

The place was beautiful, with the appearance of an enchanted cavern with each rock having glowing indigo veins, illuminating the area.

"Woah," Kelly exhaled, "This is—"

"Incredible." Dorian looked around while Amelia activated the drone, which took flight and examined the area.

"Which way?"

"The hell if I know," Kelly replied, "Peridot, this is your quest, so lead the way."

Dorian blushed a little at the nickname, but managed to keep his voice steady, "I don't know where to go either. Normally I'd ask if we can wait for the drone to make a map, but I am on a time limit, and we only have two weeks until fall break ends, so we have to hurry."

Amelia dug into her backpack, "I've packed enough food to last two weeks, but we're teens, so it might only last one week." She then took flight, and the two boys followed her, making conversation,

"Dorian, did I do something wrong?"

Dorian raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Harry said you don't want me staying with you anymore."

There was a silence between them for a moment as Dorian contemplated the right words to say.

"You did nothing wrong. I'm doing this to protect you."

"Protect me from what? I'm immune to your powers, being your other half and all."

Without thinking, Dorian stopped in his tracks and grabbed Kelly's wrist. He didn't know why exactly he'd decided to stop walking, but he didn't want Amelia to overhear this, "I'm trying to protect you from the curse! I've noticed I go berserk when you're hurt or upset."

"Really? Why?"

Knowing this was the moment of truth, Dorian took a deep breath. Kelly watched him with piercing sapphire eyes, curious and wanting an answer. Even if he decided to not answer, Kelly would still want to know.

"I... It's because..." he nodded to himself, he could do this. He held both of Kelly's hands loosely, "I'm in love with you, Kelly, and I would do anything to make sure you're safe and happy and have people who treat you right. So if even the slightest misfortune befalls you while you're staying with me, I don't know what would happen." He finally looked up, and his silver eyes met Kelly's blue, "Yeah, I'm gay. I didn't tell you before to avoid the awkwardness of you knowing I'm into you."

He saw Kelly's cheeks were bright red, same with the tips of his delicately pointed ears. He remembered Harrison mentioning how flustered Kelly got when getting confessed to. He sighed,

"I don't expect or even hope you return my feelings—actually, it would be better if you didn't." Deciding to take a chance since Kelly wasn't downright rejecting him, he leaned in and tenderly kissed him. Kelly didn't return it, but also didn't back away.

"You kissed me," Kelly said after a moment, placing a hand to his mouth and gently touching his lips,

"I-Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know. I suppose that with the curse, it is, but I'm not going to complain. For the sake of simplicity, I won't think much about it until the curse is broken."

Dorian chuckled, "That's probably for the best, but I had to tell you. Because if this doesn't work..." he smiled, but it was strained, "Don't worry about it."

"What aren't you telling me?" Kelly asked in a warning tone, "Don't hide things from me."

"If this doesn't work, I asked Mia and Harry to isolate me from the world forcefully, and possibly kill me."

"WHAT?!" Kelly grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "Why would you—"

"Because I won't let Chandra win and the multiverse pays the price. Just because a time traveler said I am to be an evil mastermind, doesn't mean I actually need to be. I'm writing my own destiny, and even if it ends in my death, my happily ever after starts now."

Amelia landed, frowning, "You guys stopped following me. Did I miss something?"

"No." Both men replied, and she giggled,

"Double negative, I get it."

Kelly facepalmed, "Alright. Did you find anything?"

"The stone? No. A ton of monsters blocking our path to a run-down town close to a palace covered in thorns? Yes."

"Well, that sounds bad." They followed her and hid behind a rock, seeing the dark world natives.

"Okay, here's the plan," Kelly said, "Activate your powers and, as we are doing that, sprint crazily."

Dorian turned to him, "That's a terrible plan."

"You got a better one that doesn't involve being any European explorer ever?"

"Well, those guys were in it for God, glory, and gold. I'm doing it for salvation."

"Doesn't change the fact we'd be killing just because they're natives. What if they're nice?"

"Then, why does your plan involve running?" Amelia retorted, and Kelly rolled his eyes in response,

"I'm not _that_ confident in the friendly theory."

Dorian dug into the pockets of his camo jacket, pulling out a small thing of binoculars, "What do we do, then? Because from where I stand, sprinting crazily is, unfortunately, the smartest option."

"Or fly!" Amelia brightened, "Kels, you have wings. And since Dorian is your other half, he probably does too!"

"I don't know how to activate my wings."

Dorian nodded, "Yeah, I've got no clue."

"You two are hopelessly made for each other," Amelia muttered, and Kelly smacked her arm,

"You knew he's in love with me?!"

"_You_ know?!"

"I confessed earlier," Dorian murmured, "And he knows about our agreement."

"O-Oh..." she sighed, "Kels, the only reason I agreed is because of what happened to Harry."

"I understand, but that doesn't mean I like or accept it." Kelly sighed, looking back at the creatures, "Looks like Harry gets to discover a new species after all. What should we call them?"

"Well, seeing as we're planning to avoid them, I don't see that as a priority." Amelia replied, "Maybe just focus on your wings to activate them."

Kelly tried that, and peridot-colored wings sprouted from his back, glowing dimly and contrasting the indigo lighting around them.

In response to the wings, the abnormally-colored strands of Dorian's hair began to glow.

"Oh. You might not have wings," Amelia groaned, picking Dorian up bridal style and taking flight.

It took a moment for Kelly to figure out how to get his feet off the ground, and even then it was much slower than Amelia, who came back,

"How do you do this?" Kelly asked, fluttering in the air, struggling to remain in the air.

"It's like you're walking."

"Then why are you going so much faster than me?"

"Because I know how to walk forward."

"Meanwhile, I must be carried," Dorian clung to Amelia's neck nervously, looking down at the creatures below them, wondering if any of them could fly.

"I don't see a problem," she replied, adjusting his weight in her arms, "Now come on, there's an open window in the castle. If we'll find the stone anywhere, it's there."

Controlling wings was a new experience for Kelly, so it took a bit to flutter after the others, landing in the castle, and everyone was surprised to find it abandoned, but also looking as though it had been lived in.

"Do you think the stone is here?" Dorian questioned hopefully, and Kelly shrugged while trying to retract his wings.

"I would think so. If we're lucky, this place is as abandoned as it looks."

"Should we split up?" Amelia asked, and Kelly pondered that for all of two seconds,

"I've seen enough horror movies to know that sounds like a terrible idea."

"I'll so alone," Dorian suggested, "You two go together."

"Are you trying to die?!"

"I'm going to die if we don't find the stone, so I'm willing to take some risks. Besides, I have my scythe," to prove a point, Dorian took out his pen, activating the scythe.

Kelly bit his lip, "O-Oh. Just try not to get hurt. We're connected." He held Dorian's hand, squeezing it comfortingly, "So if you need me, all you have to do is call."

"A-Alright." Dorian went down the nearest stairwell while Kelly and Amelia walked down the hall.

Once alone, Dorian slid down the wall, looking at his hand and thinking about how that love confession went. In a way, it went exactly how he'd wanted it to, but a small part of him longed for Kelly to return his feelings—which was to be expected but didn't make it hurt any less.

No, Kelly couldn't return his love, not until the curse was broken.

With newfound resolve and determination, he kept walking, trying to locate the stone.

He didn't know how long he was searching since time didn't seem to work correctly here. His watch was working, but it only jumped hours, not minutes, so it was unclear if this was correct or not. But, regardless, he kept moving until he came across a corridor, illuminated in turquoise light.

"What do you seek?" He heard a voice say, and he looked around in search of the source,

"I seek my salvation."

In the darkness of the unilluminated corners of the corridor, a figure appeared and revealed herself to be none other than Chandra.

"Chandra?"

"In this place, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. That's the way of things in this land."

"What are you talking about? Can you not be cryptic?" He pulled out his scythe and attacked, only for the time traveler to vanish, reduced to no more than turquoise sparkles, "Oh. An illusion. That's a bad sign." He frowned as he kept walking, pondering what had been said, "To find is to lose, and to lose is to find? What does that mean?"

Deciding to find the stone before he found out, Dorian broke into a sprint.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Mortals and Fools**

Harrison observed the Dark Realm through his drone's camera. This place was incredible, and the native beings had a way of life similar to that of a human being. He wondered if they were formerly humans, evolving in their new location. Some looked to have a humanoid shape with beady gold eyes and black-purple skin, albeit lacking the other facial features of a person—well, maybe they had mouths it was hard to tell. However, others appeared to be nothing more than balls of water or fire with an energy core in the center.

He looked to Maki, who was helping operate some machines and rocking Alexandrina, who was finally asleep. Now that she had a grasp on her powers, she used her ice to make snowmen, tiring herself out.

"Say, Maki, what's gonna happen if we actually succeed in breaking the curse?"

"Dorian goes back to his semi-normal life, I guess. But Chandra might get pissed and come back."

"That's what I'm worried about. If Chandra hasn't returned, does that mean we end up failing? Or is this like _Back to the Future_, and the effect the changes have on the timeline take longer to be made known, meaning she hasn't realized yet and will be back to ruin our day sooner or later?"

"I don't know." Was the reply, but Harrison wasn't done lamenting his worries to her,

"And he made Mia promise to isolate him if this mission fails, and kill him if it came to that. Would Chandra wait for that moment to come back, or does Dorian go nuts and get free? I don't know, and it's freaking me out."

Maki yawned, her voice monotone as she said, "You are aware that there was a second time-traveler, right?"

"Adelina? Yeah, I remember her. But Chandra seemed more eager to do this, and she's the one who resorted to harming us to make us submit, while Adelina decided to talk things out. Hence why I decided to lock Chandra in the box, and if I ever see her again, won't hesitate to do so again." He then started pacing, and Maki rolled her eyes,

"Ah, humans, so anxious about things. Just use the tablet, Mia asked me to build you five years ago." Harrison went to his desk and pulled out the tablet he had been given for his thirteenth birthday, "It will show you anything file in the multiverse you want to see."

"Alright then, I actually didn't realize it could do that."

"To be fair, Amelia didn't know it could do that either. I just wanted to test my skills."

Harrison searched for Chandra Nalaar, frowning when he came up empty. He did, however, find some leads as to who her future parents might be, before deciding this was irrelevant because it wasn't like he was going to go hunt down and kill her parents before she's born, so why would this matter.

(Well, if Dorian found out about Chandra's parents, Harrison didn't put it past _him_ to go kill the parents.)

He sighed, about to turn off the tablet, before then deciding to look up a stone of tanzanite. Nothing except the rock itself, without magical properties.

"Just relax," Maki said, "Worst case, you smite her if she comes back. No biggie."

Harrison pondered this. Two years ago, he wouldn't dream of killing someone, but now it was a necessity to protect himself and those he cared about. And the fact it could be counted as self-defense—torture of Chandra not included—made the line between right and wrong grow increasingly blurry until it got to a point it was hard to tell if the killing was for self-defense or only murder.

He was a scientist at heart, wanting to discover the world's secrets and figure out the science behind magic, but he feared doing that would lead to inhumane treatment and only once had his morals been defied.

"What would your mother do if the curse was broken?"

Maki turned from where she was building some grenade, "I doubt she'd care. Chandra and Adelina are the only reason she bothered, and the rest is her taking advantage of the situation. But from what I've overheard, someone else would need to break the curse, and be okay with dying to do it."

"Damnit, how are we gonna get past that?"

"I'll do it." Was the quiet response, "I have no reason not to. It's only a matter of time before Mara realizes myself, Macy, and Lara are all traitors, so we'll likely die anyway. Might as well make mine worth something by saving the life of another—what can I say? Makane rubbed off on me a little."

"That's quite noble of you," Harry murmured, not liking the idea of another of Amelia's nice sisters going to the grave, "How many witches are left at this point?"

"Last I checked, it's 253. But it might be less. I don't know nor care about the condition of most of my sisters." She looked up at him, "What about you? How do you plan to spend your newly extended life?"

"Huh?"

"Makane gave her immortality to you. Because you're human and was dead at the time, I assume you will merely age must slower and have a couple hundred years instead of thousands."

"I didn't know about that," he replied, amazed that it was even possible.

"Well, now, you do. Don't expect to develop powers, though, you only have a longer life."

Harrison had been looking at his hands, with that thought in mind. At hearing that he wouldn't get superpowers, he sighed, "Bummer." Then he shrugged, "Oh well, I'm not complaining. But it is weird to imagine having not only an average lifespan but also an extended one. There are so many things I want to do! See the world, discover new things, imagine the possibilities!"

"I was born and raised knowing I'm immortal, the possibilities seem dull because of it," Maki went on to explain, "since you lose your appreciation for life. It's the immortal's curse, being eternally bored and eventually losing all morals because the guilt will go away in a couple hundred years. Hence, it's easier to care about another immortal. But due to my intelligence, I grew jaded before I even settled. I'm 118 now, and life back then for a girl is so pathetic, saying I belonged in the kitchen when all I wanted was to learn. And fuchsia hair didn't help things along. So appreciate the little things while you can, because soon the years will fly by and you lose care."

"And suddenly, all excitement of having a long life is gone," Harry muttered bitterly, "Gee, thanks." Maki shrugged,

"You're lucky to have had immortal friends right from the start. They're going to be around for a long time, assuming they don't get killed."

Harrison sighed, beginning to contemplate the meaning of life as he went back to watching the camera.

...

"So Dorian confessed to you," Amelia said, trying to fish for a reaction from Kelly, who had been unusually quiet.

Kelly shrugged, "Y-Yeah. How long have you known about his feelings for me?"

"I've known for a fact for roughly a week, but I've suspected for over a year. Dorian hasn't wanted to tell you because can you imagine the awkwardness, but what do you think of it?"

"I... don't know."

"Don't know?"

"I mean," Kelly ran a hand through his messy hair, "I care about him deeply, but then there's the curse and what Adelina said about me having kids in the future, and I'm not sure about my own feelings, and I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship, even if I trust him with my life—"

"You're overthinking this. It doesn't matter right now if you're ready, because the priority right now is you understanding your feelings." She grabbed his shoulders, "Do you see him as more than a friend?"

"Yeah, I guess, if you put it that way."

"If the curse or what time travelers said wasn't a concern, could you imagine a future with him?"

"Yes, but I can also picture a life with you and Harry, and I am positive I'm not in love with either of you."

"You're hopeless, you know that, right?" She huffed, "You will never get past the awkward if you can't sort out your own feelings—I don't care whether you get with him or not, but you need a definite answer to gain peace of mind." She brightened as they went up some stairs, "How'd you feel when he kissed you? You've been touching your lips ever since we got into different groups. A teen's first kiss is a special moment—especially for you, turning eighteen tomorrow, or maybe we have already since time is weird here."

"I have no idea. What am I supposed to say?" Kelly bit his lip, crossing his arms as he tried to sort out his jumbled thoughts, "I don't know what love really is, besides that crush I had on Mor for like a month two years ago. Dorian's the first person to honestly know me and still say they love me romantically. A-And the first guy. With anyone else, I'm calm and know I don't love them. But with Dorian, I don't understand my own feelings, and it scares me. And there are so many things in our way if we did want to."

"This isn't Romeo and Juliet," Amelia muttered, "If it was, you both would be married and dead in a day, which you are neither of."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make things any less complicated. I really care about Dorian, but if I let myself try it out, what if things go wrong with the curse, and it ends in heartache? And I don't want to try anything when I'm so unsure, and I don't want to hurt him."

She giggled, "Sounds to me like you're in love and don't know what to do about it. I'm not saying go for it if you aren't ready, but we only live once. Just tell him you don't know your feelings and don't want to hurt him. Honestly, he expected instant rejection, and he thinks the world of you. But no matter what you choose, I will still be here for you—unless for some reason you choose to throw me into a volcano, in which case I will not be here for you and will be rather bitter."

Kelly laughed, ruffling her hair and messing it up to the point she had to redo her ponytail, "Thanks, Mia. Yeah! After this, I'm gonna talk to him."

"Kels, you're killing me. Am I going to get a panicked call from either you or Dorian saying you slept together and now don't know what to do?"

"I...doubt that."

Amelia shrugged, "I'll prepare for it anyway." She then froze, her violet eyes wide, "Morrigan..." Before Kelly could say he didn't see anything, she had already runoff. Because he hadn't seen Morrigan and assumed she saw things, he decided to keep going,

It wasn't long before he came across a bedroom. It looked surprisingly modern, probably in the suburbs. He then heard a crying child.

Going around to the other side of the bed, he gasped quietly when he saw a girl no older than eight, cutting into her arm with a kitchen knife, creating angry red lines, and occasionally drawing blood. Her long, brunette hair had fallen over her eyes, making it difficult to see her face.

Unsure of why there was a child in the Dark Realm and panicked at what he saw, he grabbed her hand, guiding the knife away from her flesh.

She looked up at him with big identically sapphire blue eyes, "D-Dad?"

_Dad?_ His eyes widened as he remembered the picture Adelina showed him. For some reason, he was seeing his daughter from the future, and she was suffering.

"Hey, baby," he said, deciding to play the part, throwing the knife to a far corner of the room, "What are you doing?"

"I-It's not what it looks like!"

"Then tell me what it is. I want to help you, but I can't do that if I don't know what's going on." Her lip quivered, and he quietly started cleaning the cuts with a washcloth, "You can always come to me about this kind of thing, understand? I'm not going to let you hurt yourself, just talk to me. No matter the time, I'll listen."

His daughter smiled a little, hugging his neck, "Thanks, Daddy."

The girl and the bedroom vanished, and Kelly found himself in a dark and ominous tower and heard a voice in his head.

_"See, this is why you can't be with Dorian, or can you? But whatever you choose, you could damn the girl to never exist."_ Kelly shuddered, not wanting to make a choice like that.

He turned and realized the voice was coming from an ornate gold mirror leaning against the wall.

He walked over to it and placed a hand on the glass, only to scream when a hand inside the mirror grabbed him and pulled him in.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Don't Leave Me**

"Mor! Wait!" Amelia called, racing after her sister, who had shifted into a raven. It made sense that Morrigan was here since she was the Phantom Queen. Maybe she was trapped here and couldn't get out.

She followed the raven until she found herself in a manor. From that visit to France when she and Kelly were twelve—and she would never forget that trip—she recognized the architecture.

Looking around, she heard quiet crying coming from what seemed to be the closet. But when she opened it, there was nothing. However, being raised by witches meant she knew there was a secret door, and it only took a moment to find the button to open it.

She laid eyes on a crying, shirtless, bleeding boy, no older than fifteen, chained to the wall. His chocolate-colored hair, messier than Kelly's, was covering his eyes.

"Oh my god! Uh... Where's the—screw it." She grabbed the chains and ripped them off the wall. The boy looked up at her, and she saw he had violet-colored eyes much like her own. He was silent for a moment before he broke down. Amelia bent down beside him,

"Shh, you're okay, I've got you."

"I-I'm not okay," he shivered, "Everything hurts."

"I don't doubt it. Can you tell me how long you've been in here?"

"I don't know. A few days, maybe. Mama, please take me away from here, I don't want to be here anymore, I'm scared."

Deciding to brush off the 'Mama' and blame it on hysteria, she held him closer, "I'm going to get you out of here. It's gonna be okay."

The boy was then reduced to turquoise sparkles. She shrieked, then heard Morrigan's voice,

"The boy was no more than an illusion of something you do or will fear, as am I."

"Something I do or will fear? I've never seen that boy before, and I'm not afraid of you."

"You fear my death, which my presence symbolizes. As for the boy, you haven't seen him yet." Not-Morrigan started walking, "In this place, you may find what you're looking for, but at the cost of your mind. Those who are trapped here often go mad in the first year, but there is one safe place, I suppose, the beach."

"So we see illusions. Why are you telling me this if you're the same way?"

"Because the girl you know as Morrigan has connections here. That's all."

Amelia sighed, before her eyes widened, "Kels!" she then broke into a sprint, using her powers to go faster, hoping her best friend hadn't fallen victim to the illusions too.

...

To find is to lose and to lose it to find. Dorian had thought it meant losing his memory. But no, actually, it meant losing his mind as he began hallucinating.

"Can't run, can't stop, can't breathe, can't live, yet I can't die!" He screamed at nobody in particular, yet heard Chandra behind him, trying to explain that he needed to let this curse happen for the sake of her own happily ever after. He knew at this point that she wasn't real, but it was so much like how he viewed the pyromancer that the words still rang in his ears, "I'm not just a chess piece for you to play with for your own gain! I want to have a life without being insane, is that too much to ask? I'm sure there are plenty of villains willing to go ruin your day for you to ultimately triumph over."

Chandra vanished and was replaced by the faces of all the people he had killed, both unintentionally or otherwise. He cried out, falling to his knees at the feet of his mother, breaking down in tears. No matter how many times he reminded himself these weren't real, they seemed so lifelike that his brain wouldn't let him think rationally. Let alone continue on his quest down this goddamn corridor to find the stone and get out, breaking the curse and finally being free.

"Dorian! Snap out of it!" He then felt himself get shoved to the ground and found Amelia was on top of him. He knew she was real because they were making physical contact, and he tried to hide how terrified he had been moments ago.

"Uh, Mia, I'm gay, and you are in a good relationship." Amelia rolled off him and grabbed his hand, starting to run as she dragged his confused self along, "Kelly's in trouble!"

Hearing Kelly was in danger was enough to have Dorian picking up the pace, not caring about the strain on his legs to keep up with Amelia,

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, but I've looked where I saw him last and the tower around it, and I can't find him anywhere!"

"Kels!" He desperately called through the castle, "Where are you?!" He tried calling down their bond and got a scream in response. He wasn't able to tell from how quickly it was cut off, whether the noise was fear or not, but something clicked inside him, but something else snapped. He didn't know what it was, just that his body and soul knew the way.

He ran up a tower, hearing Amelia shout that she'd already checked there, and saw a mirror. He turned to her,

"Get the drone over here," he barked, "I want Harry to examine the mirror. Now!"

She pressed a button on the remote, and the drone flew over to them, scanning the mirror and beeping for a moment. After about five minutes, the little thing printed a piece of paper. Amelia waited for the paper to fall free, then read it.

"Alright, this thing is a rare magic mirror. It only answers to its owner and traps anyone else who touches it."

"Shit. Does Harry know who the owner is or who I have to kill to become the owner?"

"Uh..." she checked the note, "Only three of these things are known to exist, owner not included."

"Fuck!" He turned to the mirror, "Yo, mirror, who's your master?" The mirror was silent, and Dorian glared at it, biting his thumb nervously, his other hand playing with his scythe in pen form, panic seeping in as he clawed through his brain for an answer. His—friend was in danger, and it was all his fault.

He shook himself, trying to ignore the word he had almost thought. His main concern right now was saving Kelly from the mirror, because who knew what he was going through.

He then blinked at the clear answer staring him in the face: the stone. If someone wielded it, it made sense they'd be able to free Kelly.

However, that plan was hindered by the fact he didn't know where the damn gem was. The only hope he had of finding it was the idea that maybe the stones were attracted to each other. It was a long shot, but what other choice did he have when his friend and not-so-secret love was trapped in a goddamn looking glass?

He stormed off, ignoring Chandra, who had once again appeared next to him and was trying to convince him that he should accept the curse and become the villain she wanted him to be. A dark part of him laughed, and made a mental note to destroy her even if he broke the curse, and make sure she still didn't get that happy ending. Maybe that person he remembered seeing in her memories that he had killed was an accident or a crossfire kill, but now it was personal, and both Chandra and that girl would _suffer_. Adelina seemed decent, but she would have to pay too.

He clenched his fists as he reminded himself that bloodlust was the curse talking, and he couldn't actually go through with his desires to make her suffer as she made him suffer. If the curse was broken, he would try to forgive and know he would do the same if Kelly had been the one to die.

On the bright side, his war with himself was enough to distract him from the illusions meant to torment him, calling out with his power over the peridot for this other gem, hopefully, tanzanite.

He found himself in what seemed to be in a domed part of the castle, which was mostly water, and at the very center was a small black platform, with a glowing turquoise gem. Definitely not tanzanite, which had a more indigo color.

He choked on a sob as his hopes of being free from the curse were dashed. But he still needed the stone to free Kelly. It still hurt painfully, knowing he really did have to die to protect everyone, and that this journey had been for nothing.

He looked down at the black waters, likely housing some unspeakable horror to guard this gem. If only he had wings, then getting over there would be easy. But this was clearly a test, and he didn't need his stone powers to grab it.

He extended his arm to grab the stone from that distance away, screaming as he felt the power transfer to him, it was like when Regina had him consume that soul, only multiplying that feeling by a thousand.

Dorian felt his hand let go and saw the gem was reduced to a small pebble floating there.

He looked down at his hands, seeing his flames had a black highlight to them, making them look almost tainted. He sighed and went back to the mirror, only to find Amelia was there, sitting with a very much free Kelly, who grinned and waved.

"Kelly!?" Dorian ran over, "You're free!"

"Yeah, all I had to do was defeat the man in the mirror, and I dominated that bitch."

Dorian would not deny he wanted to see that and was a little turned on.

"Well... we can go home now... I-It was pointless to come here. The stone was some sort of moon opal. I don't know what power it gave me, but I took it to save you from the mirror. I thought I needed the power to free you, not just have you beat the hell out of the guy in the mirror."

"I am pretty awesome when the glaring weakness that is this scar," he held up his hand with the mark to prove a point, "Isn't in my way. But maybe you can ask the mirror something. But judging by the way that the dude was talking when we fought, I think you need to speak in rhyme."

"In rhyme?" He walked up to the mirror, running a hand along the glass, and feeling it hum pleasantly in response, "Mirror Mirror on the wall..." he faltered when he realized he didn't have a rhyme for the question he wanted to ask. He shied away, turning back to Kelly, only to see the mirror shrunk into a small handmirror which could be easily transported.

He debated leaving it because returning to the Realm of Light would be his isolation and death. He looked towards Kelly, who seemed to have realized the same thing.

"Well... I guess it's time to go." He gasped a little when he saw Kelly holding his hand before hugging him tightly.

Amelia sighed, "Come on, I'll tell Harry this didn't work."

OoOoO

Dorian tried to make himself some dinner, a last meal of the sort. Harrison had thought this would work, so he hadn't built something strong enough to contain someone of Dorian's power.

While it only felt like a couple hours for the team, it had actually been almost two days. At least it was still Kelly and Amelia's birthday, so they could celebrate as friends.

He jumped a little when he heard a thunderclap outside, sighing at the emptiness of the apartment since Alexandrina was staying at the mansion tonight. Didn't want her getting attached to a dead man walking.

He didn't realize he was crying until his legs gave out under him, landing his hand directly on the stove and into the flame. He yelped, looking at the burns that had appeared.

Then he heard a knock on the door, "Dorian?" Was that...Kelly?

He winced at his burned hand, turning off the stove and wiping his eyes—accidentally getting his salty tears on the injury, and that hurt badly.

Sure enough, Kelly was outside, soaked to the bone and shivering a little, his untidy hair was plastered to his face. He also noticed Kelly's eyes were glassy like he, too, was about to cry.

"Kels? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be celebrating your eighteenth birthday with your friends?"

"I'm here, aren't I? You're..." Kelly sighed, "Maki told me not to come, that I should leave you to your brooding, but I just felt I had to see you." He handed him the mirror, "Oh, you left this at the mansion."

Dorian took it, gazing down at the looking glass, "I don't see why that matters, I'm going to be trapped tomorrow anyway." His eyes widened as he realized Kelly was still standing in the rain and hadn't invited himself in. He grabbed Kelly's wrist and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. He grabbed a blanket out of the dryer and wrapped it around Kelly, "How long were you out there?"

"Well... I walked here, so about a half-hour?" Dorian had forgotten Kelly didn't know how to drive. Either Harrison's butler drove them all places, or he chose to walk—usually the latter.

"Good lord, Kels, you didn't need to do that. It's pouring outside. You look freezing."

"To be honest, I am." He admitted.

"Er…dry. We need to get you dry. You need to get dry." Dorian fumbled with his words. "Because you're wet." He added without thinking, then blushed. He hurriedly added, "I mean, your clothes are wet… Take your clothes off."

"At least buy me dinner first." Kelly returned cheekily on instinct, turning to see a very flushed, very frantic Dorian mumbling in front of him. He couldn't help but chuckle again, already feeling better," Okay, okay." He conceded, voice still light and teasing. "I'll strip." He winked playfully.

Dorian tried so very hard not to let his mind wander on that thought, but he didn't have long, however, to ponder, because suddenly Kelly was gripping the bottom of his dripping shirt and tugging it over his head. Dorian's vision was filled with smooth, milky skin, stretched over a perfect, tight framework. And suddenly he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think he couldn't do anything apart from stare at this masterpiece of flesh before him.

Then Kelly looked up. And their eyes met. And Dorian swore he was flying. But then he coughed, and Dorian landed with a bump, eyes widening and breath hitching.

"Erm." Kelly pronounced hesitantly. "Do you have anything that I could put on?"

Dorian nodded jerkily. "Of course. Over here." He jolted over to the dresser and started rummaging through it for a shirt. "They might be a bit big, but I'm sure we can find something…" he spun back around abruptly, and practically toppled Kelly standing right behind him.

On instinct, Dorian reached out to catch him, forgetting that Kelly wasn't wearing anything other than his boxers. His hands made contact with an ice-cold waist, steading him, before immediately letting go in shock.

"Gods, Kels, you're absolutely frozen!"

Kelly shrugged, planning to disregard it and shrug it off, but didn't get a chance to speak before Dorian did again, hands splayed against his hips.

"Here, take my shirt. It will be warmer than one from the dresser…and comfier too." He insisted, mouth speaking before his mind even considered the words. His body was apparently a traitor, too, because it started shrugging off his top and pulling it over Kelly.

Kelly began to object, but the second the soft, toasty fabric brushed over his body, he was too grateful for the comfort and warmth it provided, he couldn't say no. Seeing as this was baggy on Dorian, and Kelly was a little bit smaller than him, it was far too big for him; sleeves hanging over his hands, the hem dangling mid-thigh. But in some ways, that just made him like it even more. The feeling of being engulfed by Dorian, surrounded by his heat, his smell, it was…surprisingly nice.

Dorian's mind only seemed to come back to itself by the time Kelly was clothed in his too-big garment. And even them, it could focus merely on the way he looked, shrouded by the hanging fabric. It made him seem even smaller, emphasizing their slight size difference. But it also gave him a protective desire over Kelly. The need to pull him closer practically overwhelmed his misty mind.

He forced himself to snap out of it.

"So…" he asked instead. "Why did you come here? Is there something wrong?"

"As I said," Kelly replied, "I had to see you. In that mirror... I saw some things, and it really put things in perspective for me." He looked up, "I don't want you to go."

Dorian sat down, and his mind cleared as they got back to a more serious topic, "Kels, you know I have to. It's for the good of the multiverse."

"Dorian, we're barely adults, there has to be another way—"

"We've been saying that for a year. Clearly, there is nothing we can do. By the time we find tanzanite—if it even exists—I'm going to be long gone. Face it, my life was taken from me the moment the curse entered my heart! I already made Harrison and Amelia promise to do it, no matter what you or I say later."

"Oh? So you don't care what _I_ think about this?"

"Of course I do, but if I hear you begging, I don't know what I'd do." He gasped quietly when he felt Kelly grab both his wrists and hold them up, hesitating when he saw the burns on his hand. He sighed and grabbed the first aid kit, using some cold water on the injuries, before lightly wrapping them.

"Dorian, I care about you... you're my other half, and I think you've known that longer than I have. But I have known for a while, whether I processed it or not, that you're more than a friend to me, and I feel secure when you're around. I didn't think I'd actually ha-have to lose you."

_Damnit, Kelly! Why now? Of course, that mirror of truth and a confession in the face of my death put things in perspective. Couldn't this have been like a week ago? Because now I am in front of the one I want more than anything._

And he knew through their bond that Kelly was genuine, this wasn't a trick to make him reconsider. Actually, it was much more likely that Kelly was going to mind control some people if it came to that, and the fact he could be willing to do that was kind of hot.

"Are you saying you love me?" He had two fingers under Kelly's chin, moving his lips closer to Kelly's, not kissing him, but making it clear that he wouldn't say no.

He certainly didn't expect Kelly to sit in his lap, smiling, "I don't know, but I know I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you."

"But I thought you said you weren't—"

"Ready? Maybe I'm not, I honestly don't know. This is all a confusing mess. But clarity is generally a slap in the face, not a gradual thing." Dorian chuckled,

"You're right." Gently, he took Kelly's arm. Kelly shivered with the contact.

"You like that, hm?"

Without thinking, Kelly nodded.

Dorian grinned.

Keeping eye contact with Kelly the whole time, he brought Kelly's forearm up to his mouth, planting tiny kisses on the ivory skin. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be doing this.

Either way, he no longer cared as Kelly's eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth dropped open.

Smirking again, he moved his kisses further up Kelly's arm, traveling up to his shoulder, then his neck. He sucked a little there, eliciting the smallest of whimpers from Kelly, before moving up to his jaw. Then finally, his mouth.

He wasn't sure which one of them groaned. It could have easily been him. Their lips, together, were just…electrifying. Kelly's mouth was warm and surprisingly strong, pressing back against his own with a sense of urgency, desperation, want, need, fire. His hands grabbed at Kelly's back, his waist, his hips pulling him in, needing him closer. Kelly's arms found their way around Dorian's neck, sliding up into his hair, tugging it slightly…It was definitely him moaning now. It was like he was floating, but being compressed, and on fire, but freezing cold, and every single, little nerve in his body was alight and dancing and shouting and screaming, and he was purely… alive. This was right. This was amazing.

But then, as all good things do. It ended.

They broke apart, gasping for breath, hearts pounding, minds racing. Bodies aching for more.

Their eyes met. They both blushed, averting their gazes.

What does one do in this situation? Where you've accidentally just made out with a _very_ close friend?

Apparently, coughing and scratching your neck is the thing. Because they both did it simultaneously. Before making yet more awkward eye contact.

Do you apologize? Do you say thank you?

"Erm…" he began.

"I'm sorry…" Kelly half-gasped.

"No" Dorian protested. But then he noticed there was a flame in Kelly's eyes that he had never seen before. This time Kelly was the one to learn in, brushing their lips together, which ignited a wildfire within Dorian, proven by the fact he legit burst into flames.

Only Kelly would stare at a flaming man and not run away, instead smirk before wrapping his arms around Dorian's neck and resting them there. He'd denied himself from doing this for months now. Day after day of low-key flirting. Sexual tension piling up with every glance, but both had been too oblivious to notice. Enough was enough. He met his and Dorian's lips together again.

...

He could feel Dorian's shock, and he once again melted into the contact as his hands found their way back to Kelly's hips.

"What are we doing?" Kelly whispered, feeling a hand at his low back. The flames engulphed them both now, but neither was bothered or even felt it, though Kelly used his own power to create a barrier around the apartment, to ensure the fire didn't spread.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"Are we really doing this?" Kelly shuddered, smiling a little, "I mean, to be fair, boyfriend sounds nice, but a potential supreme enemy you can make out with sometimes in secret sounds much more hardcore." He yelped as he felt hands tugging at his hair,

"Oh, Kelly, I can never be your enemy. No matter what happens, I know I will always love you."

Kelly pressed his forehead against Dorian's, unintentionally dripping water on him, "Then don't go. Don't leave me." His lip quivered, as logic and emotion battled for dominance. For the sake of the multiverse, it was smart for Dorian to be locked up. But after giving up so much, including his life at one point, couldn't Kelly afford to be selfish for a little bit? Just until they knew what to do.

"I _can't_... please understand." Their eyes met, and Kelly brushed away a tear from Dorian's eyes, "Can we just... enjoy tonight?"

Kelly forced a smile on, needing to hide the tremor that shook his body, "Y-Yeah. I'll just convince you in the morning." But those words were mostly for himself than anything, and Dorian knew this.

"Are you sure you want this?" Kelly nodded through tears,

"I-I know I do."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: The Fine Print**

Dorian opened his eyes and saw a sideways landscape of pillows in the foreground, curtains engulphed with chartreuse flames in the background, and Kelly's sleeping face in between. He took a moment to collect his thoughts. As his brain booted up, he replayed the previous night in his memory. When he was done, he went back and replayed a few of his favorite bits a couple of times.

Pleasent as the past was, Dorian knew it was time to deal with the present. He looked to Kelly and reflected on the fact that the present seemed pretty nice too. The future, however, was a minefield.

_If I get up and leave for my demise,_ he thought,_ I'm the selfish guy who got what I wanted and ran. If I stick around, I'm the clingy guy who would rather be with someone than protect the multiverse. I'd better decide what to do fast, or else he'll wake up, and I'll be the creepy guy who was watching him sleep with a worried look on my face._

What Dorian needed was a distraction, something that would wake Kelly up and hold his attention through the awkward, "Hey, why am I here in bed with Dorian? Oh, that's right," phase of the morning.

He supposed he could use his powers, but all the magic he could think of to use as a distraction was a dead giveaway. He pictured himself saying, "Well, look at that, Kels, a giant pillar of flame here in my bedroom, for no reason at all. Oh look, now it's gone. So, how did you sleep?"

Dorian felt despair. Then he felt angry at himself for being the guy who wakes up in bed with the love of his life and has it cause him to despair. He rolled onto his back and resigned himself to wait for the inevitable awkward when Kelly awoke. He looked at the ceiling for a few moments, then the door swung open.

Molara swept into the room with a tray of food and a glass of some juice, "Good morning!" She chirped as she walked around to Dorian's side of the bed. He sat up as she placed the tray on his lap.

"Good morning, Lara," he said, grateful, not just for the food, but also for a far better distraction than he could have imagined. The plate on his tray contained eggs and some unknown fried meat. He hadn't realized he never ate dinner last night due to Kelly's arrival, but now he could think of little else. He turned to look at Kelly and found him bleary-eyed but awake and pulling himself into a seated position.

Molara said, "I felt the magic pulse—hell, every magical creature in the city probably did—that's why I'm here. Kels, I'll be back with your tray in a moment."

Kelly yawned, "I'm surprised it wasn't Maya."

"Oh, she's gonna be pissed that she was on a mission."

When Molara came back with Kelly's tray, then left briskly, they enjoyed their breakfast in mutual silence. When they were finished eating, Kelly turned to Dorian, smiled, and said, "So."

Dorian returned the smile, and the "So." _Okay, _he thought, _the ball's in his court. Let's see what he does with it._

"I think last night went well. Pretty awesome birthday night if I do say so myself."

Dorian laughed, primarily out of relief, "I wholeheartedly agree." He paused, hearing some relief in Kelly's own laugh, "Are you sore at all?"

"A little, but being a former superhero means I've dealt with worse."

There was a long pause between them before Dorian got up the courage to ask, "Do you think Harry or Mia suspect?"

"I don't think they suspect," Kelly replied with a chuckle, "I think they're absolutely certain."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they know about your feelings for me and the mess that was my own feelings. They knew where I was going and that I didn't come back. But they're not concerned for my safety; otherwise, Harry would have called."

Dorian nodded, "Yup, they know. Do you think they'll tell anyone?"

"Doubt it—well, maybe Tazri if they managed to pull her back from wherever she went." Kelly threw out his hand, and his cellphone flew to him. Harrison had built it, and it had a screen, making it much more modern than the average smartphone of the time.

It was barely ten seconds before the call screen was replaced with the head and shoulders of Harrison, who had a sickeningly happy look on his face,

"Yeah?"

Kelly rolled his eyes, "Hi, Harry."

Harry kept smiling. None of the three men said anything until Harrison finally asked, "Are you..." his voice trailed off, and he shrugged, but he still had the same nauseating smile.

Kelly sighed, "Yes, I'm with Dorian."

Harrison laughed diabolically and gave an exaggerated thumbs-up. The laugh went on much longer than was dignified, which was, of course, exactly how Harrison wanted it.

"Okay, okay," Kelly said, "Look, have you told Mia yet, assuming she doesn't already know?"

"Of course," Harrison replied, "She's here right now."

Amelia's head appeared over Harrison's shoulders. She had the same shit-eating grin on her face, "Good for you, Kels! Where are you now?"

Kelly winced, knowing that his friends were trying to ask the awkward and admitted, "I'm at Dorian's place."

"Ooh! Put Dorian on!"

Dorian leaned in close, and Kelly twisted his hand so he could be in view, "Good morning."

Instead of saying good morning back, Amelia gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up and laughed like a crazy woman. She did this alone for a moment, then Harrison joined her, both in the cackling and the thumbs.

Kelly and Dorian laughed a bit in spite of themselves, then Dorian said, "Oh, shut up. I'll see you both in a bit. You got the thing ready?"

The mood instantly changed, as Harrison wordlessly nodded, "Dorian, are you sure?"

Kelly also turned, "Dorian, no, don't do this."

Dorian sighed, "At least I get to die happy."

OoOoO

The night before, Harrison had waited for Kelly to finally do what they all knew he wanted to do: go check on Dorian. Then he'd waited for Kelly to return, doing this alone since Mia had fallen asleep waiting. Then, when it became clear that he wouldn't be back that night, Harrison waited until morning when he could talk about it with Kelly if he showed up, and Amelia if he didn't. When morning came, it was clear Kelly had not returned, so Harrison got himself and Amelia some breakfast of french toast—since she didn't get back yesterday in time for a birthday breakfast. That was what they were doing when he got Kelly's call.

When Amelia woke up, Harrison shared the news, which made both of them elated, not just because their friends were presumably happy, but because they could good-naturedly rake both of them through the coals about it for a few days. After the phone call, they tried to not think about the fact Dorian still wanted to go through with this isolation plan, deciding to discuss the other fun topic.

"I'm surprised that Dorian got Kelly in bed so fast," Amelia mused, "He's never seemed all that romantic to me. I know they've loved each other for a while—even if Kelly didn't realize it—but I didn't think that would accelerate so quickly."

"Well, Dori doesn't show that side to you, Mia, because he's not attracted to girls. As for Kels, you're like a sister to him, so you wouldn't know about that side of him."

Amelia smiled, giggling, "Are you saying Kelly's shown that side of himself to you?"

"Not directly," Harrison answered, just defensively enough to make it clear he was in on the joke, "But I know it's there."

Amelia lifted her napkin from her lap and placed it on her plate before putting the plate away. "You have to hand it to Dorian and Kelly," she said, getting back in her seat, "They figured out what they wanted, and they didn't waste a whole lot of time getting it once they mutually realized."

"Well, it took a while for Kelly to realize." Harrison shrugged, "But yeah, I'm happy for him. But this is a double-edged sword."

"You mean with Dorian still wanted to be isolated and potentially killed?"

"That, and it is culturally conditioned in humans—or human-like creatures because I am not entirely sure you or what Kelly and Dorian have become count as human—to attach extreme significance to the loss of their virginity; the clothing, the location, the person it was with. And, of course, it follows that you would be attracted _to_ that person. It's something I have observed, Amelia, that humans often feel _indebted_ to that person, as though they owe them something for being their first. It works in both directions, but..."

Amelia crossed her arms, "You are aware you're saying this to your girlfriend, right?"

"Yes, but there is a reason I would rather wait until marriage." Amelia nodded, accepting that answer as he continued, "Owing things to people you might not spend the rest of your life with is dangerous—it can hurt you. Especially if it's first true love beyond a crush."

"So basically you're saying Dorian is hurting Kelly without realizing it."

"Correct. We both know if this is what we suspect, Kelly may actually take control of my mind to stop this."

"Is that why you made that anti-psychic thing?"

"Yeah, but it's not done yet. But what I'm saying is that, if we can't convince Dorian to reconsider, we both need to be here for Kelly—even if he hates our guts for a bit."

"I doubt he will _hate_ us, just be pissy." Amelia got up and looked out the window, seeing both young men were walking to the gate, standing under an umbrella together. She also noticed Kelly was wearing Dorian's clothes instead of his own, and he was leaning close, "We should probably let them in."

Harrison looked too, "Yeah, I suppose that would be best."

OoOoO

Walking to the mansion was silent because Kelly had realized after the first ten minutes that he wasn't going to change Dorian's mind. Now he felt used and alone.

This was why he had never sought after love, it just hurts you in the end. Amelia and Harrison were lucky, but Kelly had never seen another relationship work out—he didn't see Harrison's parents together for long enough to figure out whether they worked well together or not.

Entering the mansion, Kelly sat down in Harrison's bedroom while Harry and Dorian went down to the lab. He sighed, knowing being angry was irrational, and isolation really did make sense. He was mostly mad at himself for wishing otherwise and leaving himself vulnerable, letting himself accept that love he had harbored but never acknowledged.

Amelia sat next to him, "Kels, are you..."

"No, I'm not okay. What I feel is so real that it sets my damn heart racing, and I hate it. I try to find love, and look where I am now, feeling used and pissed!"

"Yeah, I can't exactly relate," Amelia put a hand on his shoulder, "He's just doing this because he doesn't want you to get hurt." Kelly glared,

"You're the one who told me to go for it! Why aren't _you_ calling him out on this suicidal insanity?!"

"And why aren't you?"

"You think I wasn't? He won't listen to me. Trying to act as though nothing's happening."

"Kels..." she rubbed his back, "Are you sure he's not brushing it off as a coping mechanism?"

"He probably is, but it's so damn infuriating! I didn't think he was serious about going this far, and I hoped he'd realize on his own that this is _insane_."

...

Dorian sobbed, "This is insane."

"You're just now realizing that?" Harrison asked snappishly, raising his eyebrow, "I mean, I know in your twisted mind this might seem like a good idea, but seeing as you are still sane at the moment, I think this whole thing is overdramatic and uncalled for right now."

"I need to put personal feelings aside," Dorian muttered, "And it's not like you're going to drag my psycho overpowered ass into this plan. Might as well get it over with while I can think straight."

"Logically, I understand. It's quite painful, Dorian, the situation we're in. Kelly loves you, I can tell. So you've left me torn between being logical or being there for my best friend, who has quite literally saved my life multiple times."

"Just think of me as the guy who accidentally murdered you once—you cannot deny I did that."

"Yeah... but now I don't have cystic fibrosis anymore and have an extended lifespan..."

"Then think of me as the guy who hurt your best friend!"

"But keeping you locked up means that _I_ would be the one hurting my best friend."

"Harry, you're killing me—actually no, you're not. I wish you were, though. Can we just get this over with before I look in Kelly's eyes one more time and change my mind?"

Harrison sighed, "Fine, but we both know he might do some mind magic, and you'll be let out in an hour, right?"

"I assumed you had prepared for that."

"That's like asking someone trying for a baby if they have protection. I have it, doesn't mean I'm gonna use it. Oh come on, Dorian, I've been friends with Kelly for longer than I've even known you!"

"Yeah, and I'd prefer Kelly have a little heartache instead of getting locked up or murdered in my weird yandere state that's bound to happen. For all I know, I'll snap and kill everyone close to him—including you and Mia—to have him all to myself, and that's the last thing you want!"

That seemed to get Harrison's attention, "Fine. You're right. Brownies should solve the problem..." he sighed, "Step onto that pad," he gestured to a door, "and it will send you into a bunker over a hundred miles away, twenty miles underground. I'll send food and water through a mini transporter, but the one you will use will be deactivated the moment you step through."

"Thanks. Can I, by any chance, have pens and paper so I can still talk to him?"

"Yeah, if you want. There's already a bed, shower, and toilet down there. Before you ask, I had to use last year's grandparent money for this."

"How rich are you?!"

"Well, seeing as I managed to create a cure for prostate cancer and created teleportation, I'd say very."

"When the hell did you do that?!"

"Thank the tablet from Mia. It had extra clues that I pieced together. Really, it was basically just a puzzle."

"Yeah, yeah, we all wish we had a fraction of your brain cells, Harry. Can I go in the thing now?"

"I guess so."

"Dorian!" They both turned and saw Kelly was running down the stairs, hugging him.

Dorian's breath hitched as their connection forced him to feel Kelly's pain, and hated himself for making Kelly feel so used.

"I'm sorry, Kels, you know that. Even if you're mad at me and think I'm an idiot, I'm doing this _because_ I love you, not in spite of it. I don't want you to feel used, because I wouldn't have said yes if I knew you would feel that way." He cupped Kelly's cheek, using his other hand to brush back a strand of hair.

"I don't want you to go," Kelly trembled, "I know it's the right thing, and I know—" he was cut off by a kiss, and both cried as they held each other one last time.

"I'll write to you, I promise. But find someone better than my warped little heart." Dorian looked to Amelia, "Take care of him."

"I will." She vowed, holding Kelly's hand firmly as Dorian walked onto the pad. He sighed, trying to smile one last time, but ultimately failing.

Then he was gone.

OoOoO

A month passed, and it was the day before Halloween—also called Devil's Night. Amelia had never believed in that name, even as a witch of a powerful coven. The term Mischief Night was much more fitting.

But this particular night, the term "Devil's Night" seemed much more accurate.

All things considered, Dorian had been doing surprisingly well in isolation, as writing daily notes with Kelly managed to keep him stable enough. They'd sent him small things to amuse himself with, and used the fifteen cameras down there to keep an eye on him.

She had seen it coming, but Dorian broke down, sliding down the padded white wall, and he stared vacantly into space as tears fell.

Even as she tried to see a potential enemy in him, Amelia was not wholly unmoved either, watching the young man wracked with misery.

But just as she tried to get Harrison's attention—Kelly was sleeping at the moment. Thankfully, writing letters, having his best friends around, and eating a ton of coffee brownies were helping him act like an average person in society—something else got her attention.

The sobs were giving way to a more unnerving sound, the giggles bubbling up in Dorian's throat... and crescendoed into full-on maniacal laughter.

Harrison gaped open-mouthed at their friend, making sounds that had no place outside a mental institution.

"Uh... do you think we should get Kelly?"

"Are you sure he'd want to see this?"

Dorian let out a scream that they could hear, and it didn't take long for the banshee-like wail to destroy the cameras and wiretaps.

"Dorian?!" Harrison started trying to reboot the cameras, even going so far as to activate the teleporter again.

Kelly came down into the lab, "What's going on?" Harrison bit his lip,

"Dorian snapped. The cameras are broken."

Kelly blanched, "Death!"

Death appeared, and she seemed to be frantic too, "What power is that?!"

"W-What do you mean?" Amelia asked, and Death grabbed her shoulders,

"He found a new stone, didn't he?! What power was it!"

"We don't know! Never had a need to learn." Death vanished, and came back,

"By any chance, did he come in contact with a moon opal?"

"Yeah, I think that's what he said it was," Amelia pondered, and Death clenched her fists,

"Well, he has the power to control anything, but not be controlled himself. But if you fuse that power with the peridot, it creates the _bonus_ power of _meteors_!"

Upon hearing that, Harrison looked out the window and saw there was indeed a meteor shower.

Death looked to Kelly, "I'll see if Freya can stop it or at least suppress it since this is partially her power." Then she left.

Harrison sighed, "Can we go two months without New York almost blowing up and everyone dying?"

"No, Harry," Kelly replied worriedly, "I don't think we can."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Counting down**

"So..." Kelly was pacing, "Dorian is gone."

Harrison nodded, "Yes."

"And there are meteors outside, killing people and making craters like motherfuckers."

Amelia's turn to nod, "Yes."

"And he started cackling like a nutjob but also kinda sexy villain laugh."

"Yes." Harrison and Amelia said together.

"And...how screwed are we?"

"Depends on what kind of screwed you mean," Amelia retorted, "Because in your case it's yes to both."

"You suck."

"No, I don't."

"Can we stop with the dirty jokes!" Harrison was blushing like mad, "Dorian is out there, potentially nuts, killing everyone! Can Dorian not leave New York without causing a disaster here? I don't know. But right now, we need to use Kelly as bait because he's the only one I'm pretty sure Dorian won't murder."

"Gee, thanks." Kelly replied, "But where are we gonna find him?"

"I don't know!" Harrison snapped, "You're the one who's got the connection to him. Where would he go?"

"The first place I can think of is the forest," Kelly continued pacing, waving his arms around as he spoke, "But with Regina added into the mix, would he really go there?"

"There's an old tale Mother used to tell us when we were little. I can imagine Dorian going there if he knew about it," Amelia said, crossing her arms in contemplation.

"The Pavillion?" Kelly remembered the tale they were told as small children about a panel in the woods with stepping stones on it, and underneath was a Pavillion with enchanted flowers that granted wishes. He remembered when he, Amelia, and Morrigan were six and went looking for it. They hadn't found it, but maybe a stone wielder could?

"Yeah, I told him the story months ago." They looked outside, and thankfully the meteors had stopped. This meant Dorian was probably safe. Or dead, that was a distinct possibility too. Kelly closed his eyes, trying to call to Dorian, only to get a clearly intentional lack of response.

Harrison was on his tablet looking for any leads, "Okay, that story is real, and those of high power can summon the panel to them. However, any person is only allowed three times entering, but can stay as long as they'd like each visit."

"So that's absolutely where Dorian would go. Sweet." Kelly got up, throwing a bow over his shoulder and grabbing some arrows.

"Why not leave him there?" Amelia asked, "If he could technically stay forever. Certainly better that he stay in comfort instead of miles underground in a bunker."

"Yeah, but I want to make sure he isn't insane because if he is, he can still leave any time," Kelly replied, actually just wanting to see Dorian. He didn't care that he was still in his pajamas, because people were dying, and it was a mystery why anybody still lived in New York. At least real estate was a whole lot cheaper since there were constant villain attacks and catastrophic disasters.

"I'm going to the woods," he announced, "If I don't come back and haven't called you with a reason, Regina or Mara got me."

"You say that so calmly," Harrison rolled his eyes, "If you find him, tell him we say hi. But Kels," he smiled, "I'm glad you found someone you think can make you happy."

Kelly nodded, running out the door and into the forest, "Dorian!" He called, knowing he wouldn't get a response. He used his magic to look for the Pavillion, which he didn't find, but he did find a panel on the ground with twelve flowers on it.

And the biggest, most terrifying creature Kelly would ever see was guarding it.

Instantly, Kelly knew the wolf was protecting Dorian. Whatever power was granted to him by that second stone allowed him to command an animal as mighty as this one.

"Are you Dorian's?" He asked the animal, putting his weapons on the ground to show he meant no harm, letting his wings out to show the same color as Dorian's hair, "Dorian is very special to me. I want to make sure he's okay."

The wolf was watching the glow of the wings, which illuminated the clearing in green light. It highlighted the few leaves on the trees which hadn't yet changed and fallen.

"Can I see him? I promise I won't hurt him. He knows me."

The wolf eyed him for a moment, and Kelly slowly brought his hand toward it, letting his hand be sniffed. It was a moment of being smelled before this monstrous-looking canine was behaving like an overgrown excited puppy, licking his face. Kelly was unaware this was because the wolf was able to recognize his master's intimate partner, and figured it was because he was wearing Dorian's sweatshirt.

"You gonna let me through, buddy?" Kelly stepped towards the panel and was met with no resistance from the wolf. According to the story, there was a specific pattern to hop from flower to flower, before spinning three times on the final one.

Only one way to find out: trial and error.

It didn't take long. Kelly hopped on the first one, and it lit up. After that, all he had to do was jump to the closest one.

The panel melted away when he was done, revealing a staircase underground, which he walked down and saw a stunning area like a fairy tale. There was a boat ready to take him across the river to the Pavillion.

The sky above was night, but no light pollution bothered him, so the stars twinkled brightly, giving him enough light to see just fine with the assistance of very few enchanted glowing flowers.

Getting off the boat, Kelly peaked into the main area from behind a pillar, where he saw Dorian holding a bright golden flower and humming to himself, watching what seemed to be five stones fusing into one—into tanzanite.

Ah. Dorian came here to learn how to get tanzanite. Kelly smiled, knowing it was still the young man he had fallen for.

But then something happened he didn't expect at all.

He saw himself appear.

...

After the wolf dug him out of the bunker—a genuinely impressive accomplishment—Dorian had been unsure of where to go. The first priority was to make the meteors stop because he was pretty sure those were his fault.

Isolation really did drive people mad, who knew? Or maybe it was the sheer lack of things to do, and no freedom whatsoever. Was Kelly okay? The last letter had been three days ago.

Once he managed to stop the meteors, he remembered an old children's tale that Kelly had told him a few months back. Summoning the panel hadn't been hard, but it seemed Luci—as he dubbed the wolf that appeared to view him as its master—was going to guard.

He wasn't sure how long he had been down here, but the first thing he did was grab one of the magic flowers and wish for the answer to tanzanite. If he found what looked to be three or four more stones, he could get it and be free.

However, he didn't expect an older Kelly to step out of the mist.

Physically, he was somewhere between five and ten years older, but his eyes said it had been much longer than that. Wearing less casual clothes in the form of navy jeans, a gray button-down shirt, and a gray-blue vest over it, he looked great. His hair was down to his shoulders in a loose ponytail, with the tiniest bit of stubble.

"Hello, Dorian, it's been a while."

"Y-Yeah," Dorian stammered, "Kelly?"

"Pretty much, I come from the future—or _a_ future. It's complicated." Dorian instantly pouted,

"Damnit, Chandra put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Kind of, but you know me, and because of that, you know I have no intention of bending to the rules. This," he gestured to Dorian and the area around them, "Isn't how the timeline used to be, and we're connected, so I want to make sure you're okay."

Dorian perked up, cocking his head, "How was it supposed to be?"

"From what I gathered judging by what I was told, you weren't supposed to know what was happening until it was too late." Dorian shrunk down, trying to hide his rage that _that_ was what Chandra wanted for him.

"Did we..."

"Get together for a time? Don't know since I do not own those memories, rather the ones of a timeline where we knew what was happening every step of the way. To put it this way, there's mayhem because there was a disaster in the future. The time travelers are trying to fix it. Don't even ask me what that disaster was, because I haven't got a clue. If I had to guess, we got together, but split when I got banished to Earth and got drunkenly married to my first Earth friend."

Dorian sighed, "Seeing as you're clearly still Kelly, what should I do? I'm dangerous, and I don't want to hurt past you. I can't isolate myself, because clearly that doesn't work, so the only options I see are to die or find those stones."

"Don't die for starters," Kelly shrugged, "The banishing to Earth thing is gonna happen regardless. What happens before that is hotly up for debate. I'm saying you shouldn't let fear control you. Past me is stronger than you think, and can kick your ass if it came down to that. Live your life like there's no tomorrow, and if you break the curse, I'm looking forward to seeing how it changes things. Sounds interesting."

Dorian chuckled, "I'm guessing that since you're here, you would rather I don't murder Chandra or Adelina the next time I see one of them?"

"Keep in mind that it might not be the same version, since only one will know why you'd want revenge, and any other version of Chandra or Adelina would be clueless." He hugged Dorian, "I'm looking forward to seeing what choices you make."

"How long?" Dorian meekly asked, "Until I lose myself, and past you gets banished to Earth?"

"Five years for both, and I expect there was some causation there. Oh," Kelly pulled out a notecard, "And take care of Alexa, and make sure she doesn't develop a thing for emotional sadism? What? Oh well, I'm not gonna question that today." He laughed, before turning, "Looks like I'm here to see you. He can't hear us, so don't tell him about the Earth thing. Trust me, he'll understand in time, but will _not_ be happy at first." He smiled, "Goodbye, and good luck." He vanished abruptly, and Dorian turned to see his Kelly peaking out from behind a pillar.

...

Kelly hadn't been able to listen in on what Dorian and his older self said, but was finally able to hear when Dorian turned to him with a small smile,

"I've missed you."

Kelly's bottom lip quivered, and he ran into Dorian's arms, hugging him, "I missed you too. When Mia told me you..."

"Yeah, I couldn't deal with confinement anymore, kind of hoping Harry would finish me off."

"Dorian..."

"I know, but I didn't expect that wolf to come for me." They both sat down, and Kelly cocked his head,

"What is with the wolf?"

"I have no idea. But I named it Luci, and it obeys me."

"You don't know the gender of your wolf servant?!"

"It's not like I can ask it!"

Kelly laughed, finding it adorable how Dorian's voice went up an octave when he was exasperated, "I suppose you're right." He looked around the Pavillion, "This place is beautiful."

"It really is. You know, this would be a great place for Harry and Mia to get married."

"You're right, but I wish we had music."

All the flowers opened and released golden pollen, and instruments appeared, playing themselves. Dorian got up, "Care to dance?" Kelly took his hand nervously,

"Even if I step on your toes?"

"Even if you step on my toes."

The dance was slow, and Dorian helped Kelly along, keeping a hand on his low back to steady him. Kelly looked into his eyes, "Why do you know how to do this?"

"Before you came along," he explained, "My life was pretty boring. I had to do something to pass the time."

"You're not going to isolate yourself again, right? It clearly didn't work." He saw Dorian hesitate, looking away shamefully,

"Five years. We can do this for five years, but if the curse isn't broken by then..."

"I'm sure it will be," he assured, cupping Dorian's cheek, "What was the deal with the other me appearing."

"He mostly told me how long I've got, and said he was curious about what I would do in the meantime, such as seeing if I can break the curse before I go off the deep end."

"And what are you going to do with that time?" He was answered with a kiss.

"Have a life with you for as long as I can."

...

_"You're lucky to have him for even a moment,"_ a voice whispered in Dorian's head,_ "But you know that in five years he will be out of your reach forever."_

Dorian knew that. He knew he would have to let Kelly go, even if the curse was broken. But this didn't make him give up on getting free. Having Kelly in his arms right now with love in his eyes was more than he'd ever hoped to ask for, and was all the motivation he needed to keep going.

So, he was nothing if not grateful for the time he had.


End file.
